


Big Time Movie

by Rockport268 (RadarsTeddyBear)



Category: Big Time Rush (TV)
Genre: Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, Gen, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-10-05
Updated: 2010-10-05
Packaged: 2018-12-14 01:57:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 19
Words: 27,131
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11773101
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RadarsTeddyBear/pseuds/Rockport268
Summary: James' cousin comes out from MN to costar in a movie that BTR is making, but misunderstandings turn everybody's lives topsy-turvy!





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first Big Time Rush fan fiction back from 2010. I'm cross-posting it to AO3 because I trust AO3 more than I trust ff.net. I respectfully ask that you keep any negative criticisms to yourself; this fic is seven years old--chances are pretty good that I already know all the negatives.

            Allie chose her words carefully; she had to do this just right in order for it to work.  She scanned the words she had just typed and deemed them satisfactory.  She printed out the paper, signed her name at the bottom, stuck it in an envelope, and wrote the address down.  _Rocque Records Recording Studio._   She put a stamp on it and stuck it in her mailbox, praying that this would work.

* * *

 

            A few weeks later, Allie got a letter in the mail. 

            _Dear Alaura Diamond,_

_We thank you for your suggestion and are pleased to announce that we will be following your advice._

_We hope that a compensation of $500 will be adequate for the use of your suggestion, but if it is not we can negotiate something more satisfactory._

_Thank you again._

_Rocque Records_

Allie smiled to herself as she sat down at the computer to write a reply.

            _Rocque Records,_

_I think I have a better idea…_

* * *

 

            Many miles away in Hollywood, California, the lives of four newly famous boys were going on as usual.  James was sunbathing by the pool, as he was to be found every day at this time.  Carlos was just about to crash into something.  Logan was doing homework.  And Kendall was on another date with Jo.  Life couldn’t get any better than this.

            And then Gustavo showed up.

            Now, Gustavo wasn’t really supposed to ever come to the Palm Woods.  This was the one place that the boys could relax, something that was impossible when Gustavo was around.

            Gustavo marched over to the boys.  Well, the boys minus Carlos, who came whizzing by shortly, knocking down the table Kendall and Jo were sitting at and finally crashing into the pool.

            “What’s he doing here?” he asked.

            “I have no idea,” said Kendall, clearly not happy that his date had to be cut short.

            “Dogs.  The record company has decided--”

            “I don’t care what the record company decided!  We happen to be busy here,” said Logan, gesturing to the boys to point out what they were doing.

            “I don’t care!” yelled Gustavo, “I came here to tell you that Big Time Rush is going to be making” here he paused for effect “a movie.”

            “What?” said all four boys at the same time.

            “That’s right, you heard me.  A movie.”

            “Is it going to be a movie about Big Time Rush’s rise to fame?” asked James, looking at himself in his mirror.

            “No.  The record company apparently got the idea from some fan who sent a letter talking about making a movie talking about what would have happened to you guys if I hadn’t found you and your talent and made you big stars.  They got a bunch of writers together to write the script.  So in about 3 weeks Big Time Rush is going to be making a movie.


	2. Chapter 2

It was three weeks later. The boys had learned most of their lines. James was eager to begin his acting career, while Logan was as nervous as James was excited. Acting was just not his thing. Kendall was prepared to meet any new challenge that was presented to him, and Carlos was just excited, like always. They went into the studio, marveling at the set.  
“Where are all the other actors?” asked Logan.  
“Didn’t you read your scripts? There are no other actors, except for that one girl that plays Kendall’s girlfriend,” said Gustavo in what he thought was an indoor voice.  
“Well, where is that girl?” asked Carlos, always eager to make new friends.  
“She’ll be here in a few minutes.”

Allie was nervous. She stood in the doorway to the studio, watching the boys and thinking about how she would greet them. They had no idea that she was the one that would be in the movie with them. Finally she decided that it was now or never and walked into the studio.  
The next thing she new she was being attacked on all sides by a very excited Big Time Rush with both words and claps on the back.  
“How’d you get here?”  
“Are you going to play Kendall’s girlfriend?”  
“I haven’t seen you in so long!”  
“Why didn’t you tell us you were coming?”  
“One at a time!” said Allie laughing, “I got here by train, Logan, and yes, Carlos, I’m going to play Kendall’s girlfriend, and James, I didn’t tell you guys because I wanted it to be a surprise!”  
James looked at his 15-year-old cousin with a sudden rush of brotherly love and excitement that she was here. She had long, brown, wavy hair down to her waist and hazel eyes. The small sprinkle of freckles across her nose was just as he remembered it. And, of course, she was wearing her trademark jean jacket, the one that she always wore and hardly ever took off.  
Gustavo and Kelly watched this all with a confused expression on their faces. Nobody had told them that they already knew this girl. All they knew was that they were supposed to make a movie. Why didn’t the record company ever tell them anything?  
“There will be plenty of time for catching up later! It’s time to meet the director!” said Gustavo, a bit aggravated.  
“Marcos?” said all of BTR in disbelief when shown the director.  
“He’s our director?” asked Kendall.  
“What? I made a good music video, yes? And now I will make a good movie!”  
The boys slapped their palms to their foreheads. True, he had made a good music video. But this was a movie. You know, with a real plot and, oh yeah, longer than 3 minutes. Well, whatever. It was clear that nothing was going to change.  
“Oh, and one more thing,” said Marcos, “Kendall and Allie, you play girlfriend and boyfriend. So get to know each other. ‘Hang out’ as the kids say.”  
Even though they had known each other for over a decade, neither Kendall nor Allie said anything.  
The boys next took a tour through the studio. Apparently each set had a different name, so they learned all the names for all the sets. Then, finally, Gustavo let them go back to the Palm Woods.  
“I didn’t know that you were an actress,” said James.  
“Well, I was in the school plays the past few years. I told you that.”  
“But school plays are different then movies,” James continued.  
“So, Allie, what have you been up to since we left Minnesota?” interrupted Kendall.  
“Well, I got a job at the super market, I got into a few school plays, I told all of my friends I told you so—”  
“What for?”  
“Because they never believed me when I told them you were gonna be famous.”  
James looked at his cousin with more brotherly love. He was just a few months older than her (enough so that he was a grade ahead of her in school) but he always felt like she was his little sister. She always came to their major hockey games (and sometimes the not-so-major ones), she always followed him around like a puppy dog when she was visiting, and she always believed everything that James said. She idolized him.  
To Allie, James was the epitome of cool. Everything he ever said, wore, or did was cool. Except for Bandana Man. That wasn’t exactly cool.  
As long as she remembered, James had always told Allie that he was going to be famous someday. Allie just took it for granted that it was going to happen. So, at school, she told all her friends. ‘I saw my cousin last weekend,’ she would say, and then lean in real close, ‘He’s gonna be famous someday.’ Of course no one believed her, but now she never let them forget how wrong they were.  
“So where are you staying?” asked Carlos.  
“The Palm Woods. Right down the hall from you guys. I already said hi to Mrs. Knight and Katie.”  
“Cool!” said Kendall, “We should, um, get started, I guess as soon as we get there.”  
Allie blushed. She had always had a small crush on Kendall. I mean, he had it all: great athlete, great looks, and he was always nice to the girls. He was also a great leader. But it had always been one of those loves that will never be returned, like having a crush on a celebrity. And she really was happy for Jo and Kendall.  
Logan asked, “Will you be going to school at the famous Palm Woods School?”  
“I guess so,” said Allie.  
Logan, well, he’d always been the one that she knew the least about. He was smart but didn’t usually say much to her, especially when they were alone. He almost acted…nervous around her. When she’d told this to James a few years ago he’d laughed and told her that Logan was nervous around all girls. So Allie knew not to take it personally.  
“I HAVE to show you the Palm Woods pool!” said Carlos excitedly.  
Allie laughed. Carlos was the only member of Big Time Rush that she had never really idolized. Probably because of his immaturity; in Allie’s mind, Kendall, Logan, and James were older than her. Even though it was only by a few months, it made her look up to them as the ‘cool older kids’. Except for Carlos. She could do just about anything with him. They would try out crazy stunts, have contests where they would try to be the first to get milk squirt out of the other person’s nose—just about anything that was crazy, fun, and immature.  
As soon as they arrived at the Palm Woods Carlos grabbed her hand and dragged her out to the pool.  
“Isn’t it great?” he asked.  
“I guess. All I see is a bunch of people sunbathing.”  
“That’s the best part. Nobody to crowd up the pool. Come on, get your bathing suit on and we can go swimming!”  
“Not so fast,” Kendall butted in, “I have to ‘hang out with her’. The director said so.”  
“But she’s my cousin!” said James.  
Allie laughed. She’d missed the boys just as much as they missed her. “Kendall’s right. Besides, it’s not like I’m leaving tomorrow. There will be plenty of time for us all to catch up.” She allowed Kendall to take her to a table by the pool; Allie didn’t know it but it was the same table that Kendall usually used on dates with Jo.  
“So, how have you been?” asked Kendall.  
“Fine. It’s been boring without you guys, though. I tried going to the hockey rink a few times but…it just wasn’t the same. How’ve you been?”  
“Well, considering I’m now a famous singer with my best buds…I’m doing great.”  
Kendall and Allie continued their conversation. Unbeknownst to them, though, Jo had just gotten back from a rehearsal. Kendall hadn’t really been able to see her the past few days; her schedule was just too busy. Jo went up to her room, planning on going to bed. Rehearsals were tiring. She glanced out the window. Wait, was that…? No, it couldn’t be…Kendall would never do that…she must be a friend or a new girl. Right?


	3. Chapter 3

That night, Allie saw Kendall, instead of going to his apartment, heading over to the copy machine with his script in hand. Thinking nothing of it, she went to her room.  
A few hours later, Kendall went to the front desk. The lobby was dark; the lights had been turned off ages ago. He rang the bell for service.  
“What do you want?” asked Bitters coming out of the back room in his PJs, complete with a night cap.  
“Can you put this in Jo’s mailbox?” Kendall asked.  
Bitters grabbed the packet offered to him and shoved it in her mailbox. If it hadn’t been 2 in the morning he might have told Kendall that Jo hadn’t checked her mail in over a week. But, unfortunately for Kendall, it was 2 in the morning.  
Satisfied that his mission had been accomplished, Kendall went to the BTR apartment and went to his bed. Not until the next day did he realize that he’d fallen asleep with his clothes on.

 

Mrs. Knight packed her bags and issued a few last minute instructions to her son.  
“Don’t forget to water the plants!”  
“Mom, we don’t have plants.”  
“Oh…right. Try to go to bed at 10:30 at the latest.”  
“Ok, Mom.”  
“And there are some frozen dinners in the freezer that you just have to heat up and eat.”  
“Mom, you told me that already.”  
“And try not to get in trouble.”  
“I know, Mom. We went through all of this before.”  
Mrs. Knight looked into her son’s eyes. “I know. But I’ve never left you home alone for so long before.”  
Mrs. Knight and Katie were going back to Minnesota for a month to visit friends. The boys were too busy working on the movie to go with them; Gustavo had promised them some time off after the movie was done.  
“Alone? Who ever said anything about me being alone? I have James, Carlos, Logan, and now Allie.”  
“I know. But still…”  
“You should go or you’ll miss your plane.”  
“You’re right. I love you.”  
“I love you, too.”  
“Bye.”  
“Bye.”  
Katie came and pushed her mom out the door, waving to Kendall as they left. Kendall gave a sigh of relief and leaned on the now closed door as if to prevent his mother from coming back in.  
“She gone yet?” asked James coming into the room, staring at himself in his mirror.  
“Just left. I thought she’d never leave.”  
“Woo! Party time!” Carlos yelled, going down his beloved swirly slide.  
“No. No parties. No trouble. This time we won’t have anyone to bail us out.”  
James and Carlos looked at each other with a mischievous glint in their eyes. “Ok. No trouble,” they said at the same time. Kendall sighed and shook his head. He knew that by this time next week they would be up to their eyeballs in trouble.  
Logan then came into the room with his head in a medical dictionary.  
“Dude, what are you doing?” asked James in an exasperated tone.  
“I’m studying…” said Logan.  
“For what? For one thing, it’s almost summer, and for another, we have no adult supervision!”  
“Well, I—”  
There was a knock at the door. Saved by the bell, thought Logan in relief.  
“Come in!” said James, the exasperated tone from before carrying into this command. Kendall opened the door.  
“Hey, Allie,” said Kendall.  
“Hey. Shouldn’t you guys be downstairs…? Kelly’s waiting for you.”  
“Oh, crud.” Kendall looked at his watch. “We were supposed to be there 15 minutes ago.”  
Big Time Rush scrambled to get their stuff together and went down, with Allie, to the awaiting limo.   
The limo never failed to amuse the boys. Even though they had been riding in it almost every day for a year, they still marveled at the flat screen TV built into one wall, the mini fridge built in another, always stocked with bottles of fancy European soda.   
When they got to the limo, Allie didn’t say anything. She didn’t marvel at it as the boys did. But anyone that knew her could see that she was enchanted by it; the sparkle in her eyes said it all. James knew that she was capturing the moment in her mind to paint later.  
Allie had discovered her talent for painting in art class in 4th grade. They were told to paint a scene, any scene. So she’d asked if she could bring in a photo of one to paint and had been told yes. Everybody marveled at her painting. It was almost as good as the paintings in the art museums, they said. And Allie had enjoyed painting it; in fact, she’d never had so much fun in her life. So now it wasn’t unusual to see her whip out the camera she always carried around with her and snap a picture or two and turn out a painting of the scene a few days later. 

Back at the Palm Woods, Jo was fuming. She had hardly been able to see her ‘boyfriend’ for about a month now. Well, at least she hoped that he was still her boyfriend. Hanging out with that strange new girl, hardly paying attention to her…if Jo had been in her right mind, she would have realized that ALL of Big Time Rush was hanging out with the girl. But she wasn’t. She was just so…angry! She didn’t even know this girl’s name.   
Jo tried to text Kendall but it wasn’t working. Ok. She instead texted Logan to ask about this, who told her that Gustavo had smashed Kendall’s phone. Ok. Jo waited for Kendall to come back to the Palm Woods that night to try to arrange a date.   
“Hey, Jo!” said Kendall, clearly glad to see her. Maybe I am over reacting, thought Jo.  
“Hey, I was just wondering…we haven’t been able to see each other lately…you wanna go see a movie?”  
They’d compared dates and found that whenever Jo was off, Kendall was working, and whenever Kendall was off, Jo was working.  
“I guess we’ll just have to wait a while,” said Kendall.  
“Yeah…I guess so.”  
Kendall had seemed genuinely disappointed…she probably was overreacting. Jo almost forgot about the new girl until she glanced out her window one morning to see Kendall sitting with her, drinking smoothies, at their table. Jo decided to get to the bottom of this.  
Jo went to the set, unsure of what to do, but when, halfway through filming, the director got a call and had to leave, giving her the rest of the day off—Jo knew exactly what she was going to do.  
She was going to go visit Kendall; maybe go out to lunch if they could. It would give them time to catch up and maybe she could find out about this new girl. So she walked over from the Palm Woods to the studio; it really wasn’t that long of a walk. She walked into the studio (after convincing the security guard that she was the boyfriend of one of the stars). And this is what she saw.  
“I-I love you, and I want to spend my life with you.”  
“You can, Amy. It doesn’t matter what anybody else says.”  
“WHAT?!?!!?” shouted Jo, storming over to them. Kendall and Allie were in the corner, rehearsing their lines. But Jo didn’t realize this; she thought they were really professing their love to each other.   
“How could you?!” asked Jo, near tears, “How could you do this to me? How could you cheat on me with-with her?”  
“Jo, it’s not what you think—”  
“Oh. So you’re not telling this girl that you love her. You’re not telling her that you want to marry her.” Jo was in tears now. “You know what, Kendall Knight, we’re through!” And with that, Jo stormed away.  
By this point everybody was looking at them. But Kendall was oblivious to everything besides what had just happened. He stared after Jo, dazed. What had just happened? No, this had to be a dream…  
“Kendall?” James put his hand on his shoulder.  
“I-I gotta get some air.” Kendall left the studio. Allie looked like she was about to cry.  
“It’s all my fault!” she said miserably.  
“Didn’t he tell her?” asked James, half to himself. Allie went over to an empty corner and sat down, trying to think about what she could do to fix this. She could try to talk to Jo…but she didn’t want to make anything worse…  
“Hey…I think Kendall’s leaving,” said Carlos, who’d been watching Kendall from a window.  
“What are you standing there for? Go ask where he’s going!” said Logan.  
Carlos ran outside. “Where are you going?” he asked.  
“To the rink,” said Kendall simply, offering no explanation.  
“Ok. And Kendall…”  
Kendall turned around.  
“You’ll get her back.”  
Kendall cracked a small smile and headed toward the rink.  
“He’s going to the rink,” said Carlos, going back inside.  
Gustavo came over. “Ok, dogs. Time to start filming.”  
“No,” said James.  
“No?” asked Gustavo, angrily, “No? Did the dog just say no to me?”  
“Yes. I did. If you didn’t notice, Jo just broke up with Kendall, who went to the rink. And I don’t think he’s coming back today.”  
Gustavo was about to yell. His face turned bright red. He clenched his fists. Kelly ran over.  
“You guys should probably go. You have the rest of the day off.”  
The boys and Allie headed back to the Palm Woods, Allie looking positively miserable.   
“It’s all my fault,” she repeated.  
“No it’s not. If anyone, I blame Gustavo. He’s the one that was working us so hard,” said Logan.  
“Hey, didn’t Kendall say that he told Jo about all this?” asked James.   
“Yeah! He did! But then…” said Carlos, letting his voice trail off.  
“I don’t know what happened. But something must have went wrong, and we have to fix this,” said Logan.  
“But what if we just make things worse?” asked Allie, voicing her fear.  
The boys thought for a moment. By this time they had arrived at the Palm Woods lobby.   
SLAP! “How could you? Ever since you’ve started that stupid movie we hardly get to see each other! How can we have a relationship where you never see or talk to your boyfriend? That’s it, Logan, we’re through!” Camille.  
‘Wait, what?” asked Logan, hoping that Camille was just practicing for a part.  
“We are no longer together. Good bye.” Camille walked away.  
Logan’s knees buckled under him and the next thing he knew he was on the floor.


	4. Chapter 4

Logan paced around the apartment.  
“I don’t get it. I just don’t get it. Why would Camille break up with me?”  
James pressed the send button on his phone, having just sent Kendall a text saying that they had the rest of the day off (Gustavo had replaced Kendall’s phone last week).  
“I don’t know. But you know Camille; she’s…weird,” said Carlos.  
“Yeah. She’s not like other girls,” added James.  
“Yeah, but I thought things were going great. I thought…” Logan kept muttering to himself while he shut himself in his room. James sighed.  
“This is not going how I expected it to.”  
“Tell me about it. I’m beginning to wish that we weren’t making a movie,” said Carlos.  
James looked at his friend. “Are you crazy? This movie will make us more famous than before.”  
“Yeah, IF the movie ever gets finished. I’m not the one that wants to be famous, James, you are.”  
James just stared at Carlos, a rebuttal on the tip of his tongue, but instead he sighed, not wanting a fight. Things were bad enough as they were.  
“Allie’s taking it pretty hard,” said James.  
“Yeah, I know. I’m going to go over and talk to her. You coming?” asked Carlos.  
“Nah. I’m going to see if I can talk to Logan.”  
“Ok. See you later.”

Carlos knocked on Allie’s door.   
“Come in.”  
Carlos obeyed the command. “Hey,” he said.  
“Hey, Carlos,” said Allie, looking up from the picture she was painting.  
“What are you painting?” asked Carlos.  
“A picture of you guys. I started it last week, back when everybody was, you know, happy.”  
Carlos looked at the painting. It was good. It was really good. It looked like…it looked like somebody had taken a picture of Big Time Rush, with a camera, put it on Photoshop and added a “paint” effect.  
“Wow,” he said, “That’s really good.”  
“Thanks.” Allie put down her brush and pallet. “Anything you want to talk about?” she asked.  
And that’s how Carlos found himself pouring out all his troubles to Allie, instead of the other way around. Carlos had forgotten about Allie’s hidden talents as a therapist, how she was so easy to talk to, how she gave great advice. He talked about how he was worried about Kendall and Logan, how he wanted to get together with Stephanie, how he missed his family, how he wanted a kitten. And Allie offered advice; maybe after they were done with the movie he could ask Stephanie out, how maybe he could get a kitten someday, how everything would work out in the end. 

Back in the Big Time Rush apartment, James knocked on Logan’s door. No answer.  
“Logan?” said James softly, pushing open the door. Logan was huddled in the corner of his room, hugging his knees. He lifted a tear stained face to James.  
James felt a pang in his chest. How dare Camille make Logan feel this way! Suddenly the memory of James helping Logan ask Camille out the first time came into his head. He remembered how happy Logan had been when she said yes. He knelt down next to Logan.  
“What am I going to do?” asked Logan.  
“I don’t know,” said James, “I think that right now we have to focus on the movie. After the movie is finished, then we’ll have the time to get her back.”  
“But James, how am I going to finish the movie like this? I can’t act in the first place, and now with this…”  
“It’s ok. Everything will work out in the end.”

 

The next day Carlos and James tried to make breakfast. Toast should be easy, right? Well, whatever they did, they set the toaster on fire.  
After the firemen left, Bitters stormed in, ready to chew them out. But after seeing their faces, well, Bitters, surprisingly, had had girl trouble in his life. Ok, it was just with one girl. He remembered it like it was yesterday…  
Bitters snapped back to reality and said to the boys, “Don’t set anything else on fire or else you’ll have to find a new place to stay.”  
That was it. James looked at Carlos, a bit surprised that Kelly hadn’t needed to be called to write a check to cover all the damages, and that they hadn’t had to explain anything. Allie came running through the door.  
“What happened? Is everybody ok? The fire alarm went off but Bitters wouldn’t let me through…”   
“We’re fine, Allie. Carlos and I accidently set the toaster on fire.”  
Allie shook her head at her cousin. “Why am I not surprised? From now on I’m making breakfast for you guys.”  
Carlos and James nodded, not wanting another fire.  
“Now. Will you guys be ok if I go back to my room, or do I have to babysit you?”  
“We’ll be fine,” Carlos assured her. And she left.

Rehearsal that day was no different than any other day (except for maybe yesterday). Logan’s and Kendall’s acting weren’t up to par, but Marcos and Gustavo (who had appointed himself ‘co-director’) didn’t seem to notice. This was how it went for the next week or so. They’d hardly gotten a day off. But then…  
Today they were filming the kissing scene. The kissing scene was the scene where Allie’s character and Kendall’s character professed their love for each other and then, finally, kissed. Allie was nervous. True, she’d had a small crush on Kendall ever since she was little, but that didn’t mean that she wanted to kiss him. And now, with Jo…it just felt wrong.  
But Kendall didn’t say anything about it, so neither did Allie. They hadn’t actually kissed during rehearsals; somebody had always just said “and you two kiss…” and they kept on going. But now it was the real deal.  
Right before they started filming, Kendall whispered something into Allie’s ear that made her grin ear to ear. She nodded.  
“And…ACTION!”  
“Amy…I-I love you. Come with me. I can give you anything your heart desires.”  
“I don’t know, Kevin. Being married to a hockey star…I don’t know if I could deal with it. Always wondering if you would come back from a game still in one piece…”  
“But Amy, I don’t get injured that often. And even if I do get injured, if you were by my side…”  
“Oh, Kevin.”  
“Oh, Amy.”  
Here it was. The big kissing scene. Everybody in the room leaned forward in anticipation.  
And…they hugged.   
“CUT!!!!!!” yelled Gustavo. “WHAT WAS THAT!?!?! DIDN’T YOU READ YOUR SCRIPT?!?!?”  
Kendall walked over to Gustavo, leaning so he was just inches from his face. Kendall wasn’t scared; he’d learned a long time ago that Gustavo needed Big Time Rush. Without them, he’d be out of a job.   
“Yeah, I read the script. And I decided to make a little change to it. I’ve decided that there won’t be any kissing in this movie. I don’t kiss girls that I don’t love. In fact, I don’t kiss anybody besides Jo. Now, it doesn’t look like I’ll do any kissing for a while now, considering Jo broke up with me because of YOU. And until you decide to give us enough time off so that we can actually have lives, I quit.” Kendall started walking towards the door. His eyes grew wide as he saw Jo standing right next to the door, but he kept walking.  
“Yeah. You know what, I quit too. Because of you, my girlfriend also broke up with me. I don’t have any time to myself anymore!” Kendall had stopped and watched Logan yell at Gustavo, nodding in approval. Logan began to follow Kendall out of the studio, but once more they turned around.  
“Yeah. What they said. I need time to…to do crazy things and…I don’t have any time to do that anymore. So I quit too.” Carlos followed the others out. The three boys looked expectantly at James, who was combing his hair, looking at himself in his mirror.  
“James? Aren’t you coming?” asked Kendall.  
“Um, no. I happen to want to have an acting career.” James went back to fixing his hair.  
Kendall shrugged and left the studio, followed by Logan, Carlos, and Jo.

 

Last night, Jo had finally gotten her mail for the first time in a little over a month. She had a ton of mail, but what had stuck out the most was a large brown envelope. She opened it and found a script, along with a note.  
Dear Jo,  
Gustavo decided that we’re going to make a movie. In this movie I have a girlfriend. She is played by James’ cousin, Allie, who I’ve known almost as long as I’ve known James. So she’s like a sister to me. There’s a bunch of lovey-dovey stuff that goes on between us, but it doesn’t mean anything. I promise. But I made a copy of the script for you. Read through it and if there’s anything you would rather us not do then I won’t do it. I don’t care what Gustavo says or anything; I just won’t do it. And I’m sure Allie won’t mind.  
Love,  
Kendall  
Tears had come to Jo’s eyes when she read that note. How could I have been such an idiot? she thought to herself. So she decided that she had to make this right.  
The next day she called in sick so that she could go to the studio that Big Time Rush was shooting their movie at and apologize and beg Kendall to take her back. He didn’t deserve a girl as stupid as her. But hopefully he wouldn’t realize that.  
Jo had listened to the scene with shining eyes. Now she was positive that Kendall didn’t deserve her, but she would try to get him back anyway.  
When Kendall told Gustavo off, she followed him outside. But unbeknownst to the guys, Gustavo wasn’t done getting yelled at.

 

Allie went up close to Gustavo. “I agree with them. You haven’t been letting anybody here have a life! You work us from dawn ‘til dusk, until we’re so tired that it takes all our remaining energy to find our beds at night! Just because you don’t have a life doesn’t mean that we don’t, and just because nobody’s ever loved you doesn’t mean that nobody’s ever going to love them! You’ve written enough love songs to know what a relationship needs; how about you let us have a chance to be happy!” Allie turned and followed everybody else outside. James looked at her in shock; it took a lot for his cousin to lose her temper.  
Allie found the sight outside both heartwarming and heart wrenching. Kendall was standing off to the side with Jo, undoubtedly getting their relationship back in order. Logan was looking on, most likely wishing that it was him and Camille over there. And Carlos was about to do something totally crazy and Carlos-like. Allie took out her camera and took a picture, wanting to remember this moment. She walked over towards Logan, ready to say some words of comfort, when James stormed out of the studio almost in tears.  
“James, what’s wrong?” asked Carlos.  
“What’s wrong? What’s wrong?! Well, thanks to you guys, there isn’t going to be a movie. Did you know how much I actually wanted to make that movie? I wanted to start my acting career; this is something that I didn’t even need to audition for. But thanks for, once again, crushing my hopes and dreams.” With that, James stormed away.  
Everybody else just stared after him; Kendall was the only one who had the presence of mind to ask a question.  
“What do you mean that there’s not going to be any movie?” he called to James’ back.  
James turned around. “Well, thanks to you, Mr. ‘I care more about my relationship than my best friends,’ Gustavo decided that he isn’t going to make a movie. He said that, because there are no actors left, there can’t be any movie.” James turned and continued on.  
“James, wait, where are you going?” called Allie anxiously.  
“I don’t care!” James called back without even turning around.  
Everybody stared after James, not knowing what to do. Carlos looked as if he were about to cry, but then he got a determined look on his face as if some idea had come into his head and he marched into the studio.  
“Gustavo, I take back all the stuff I said. You can work me so hard that I don’t have a life and do whatever you want with me, only let James be in this movie.”  
Gustavo Rocque looked up at the childish, helmet-wearing boy in front of him.  
“Why should I?”  
Carlos was not expecting this question. “B-because James really wants it and—”  
“Carlos, I never wanted to make the movie. And if you dogs are going to give me a hard time about it, I’m just not going to make it. End of story.”  
“But the record company—”  
“I DON’T CARE ABOUT THE RECORD COMPANY AT THIS POINT!” yelled Gustavo.  
Carlos quickly ran outside before Gustavo could further damage his hearing. He found everybody looking at him.  
“Gustavo isn’t going to change his mind any time soon, guys,” he said.  
Logan said, “He probably will. He’s probably just bluffing so we’ll back down.”  
“I don’t know…” said Carlos.  
“Everything’s going to be ok,” said Kendall confidently.  
Carlos didn’t look convinced, but he didn’t protest. Suddenly a limo pulled up alongside them. The window rolled down, revealing Kelly.  
“Hop in guys.”  
They did as they were told, Jo included.  
“Kelly, do you think that Gustavo was bluffing?” asked Carlos. Kendall rolled his eyes.  
“To tell you the truth, I have no idea.”


	5. Chapter 5

“Thanks for the ride, Kelly,” said Kendall. He was the only one that was happy right now. Well, maybe he and Jo were the only happy people. Allie, Carlos, Logan, James…all were miserable. Allie was partially worried about her cousin; the last two times that he’d run off like that he’d been hit by a car. 

James was 10 and the rest of the future members of Big Time Rush were trying to break it to him that he probably wouldn’t be famous someday. Allie was peering at them from the doorway.  
“James, face it, you probably won’t be famous someday.”  
“Yeah, James, but it doesn’t matter. Not everybody has to be famous.”  
“Only a tiny percentage of people get to be famous, and it’s not all it’s cracked up to be.”  
“I can’t believe you would say that to me! I thought you guys were my friends!”  
“James…”  
“You know what? You guys are jealous! And you aren’t even real friends!” James stormed out of the room.   
“James, I don’t think they meant it that way…”  
James turned to face his cousin. “Then how did they mean it?”  
“I don’t know but…I know you’re gonna be famous someday. Please don’t be angry anymore.” Allie couldn’t stand to see anybody angry or upset; as a result she was a very sensitive person that hardly ever lost her temper.  
“I can’t help but be angry! Those guys…they don’t even believe in me, and I thought they were my friends.” James continued walking, leaving his house and crossing the street without looking both ways. And he got hit by a car.  
It wasn’t bad at all; since they were in a neighborhood the car hadn’t been going very fast but Allie had totally freaked out. She started yelling, causing Kendall, Logan, and Carlos to come outside and see what was happening. Logan called 911 and James hadn’t even had to go to the hospital; but that didn’t make it any less scary.

While Allie had been reliving this event in her life she had sunk down until she was sitting against one of the pillars that held up the Palm Woods. Allie smiled as she remembered. She remembered the fear she’d felt when the car hit him; she remembered screaming her head off until the boys had come outside thinking there was a fire or something; she remembered the relief she’d felt when James stood up, completely unharmed. Allie whipped out her phone and quickly sent a text to her cousin:  
Please don’t get hit by a car again  
Logan looked around the lobby, half hoping to see Camille. He didn’t know what he would do if he saw her, but that wasn’t an issue because she wasn’t there. The only thing that Logan wanted right now was for everything to go back to normal; he couldn’t stand all the stress he was feeling right now. He felt like he was going to explode.  
Carlos…well, Carlos wasn’t sure exactly what he was feeling right now. He was sad for Logan, happy for Kendall, worried about James…Carlos wasn’t used to feeling so many emotions other than hyper-active happy-excitement.   
And Kendall…all he could think about was his joy at getting Jo back. But he snapped out of his haze of happiness long enough to see the look on Logan’s face.  
“Um, Jo, can I ask you a favor?” he asked, pulling Jo over to the side.   
“Sure, what is it?” asked Jo, suddenly anxious.  
“Well, Camille broke up with Logan the other day and I was wondering…could you talk to her? You know, try to get her to get back with Logan? Or something? I can’t stand seeing him like this…”  
Jo smiled at her boyfriend’s concern for his friend, but the smile quickly turned into a frown.   
“I’ll try, but Kendall…Camille has a sort of a warped view on life. She reads so many scripts, watches so many shows and movies…I don’t think she really understands what a real relationship is. She thinks that all the drama is normal and…well, just don’t be too disappointed if she says no.”  
Kendall nodded and walked back to his friends, Jo having to go off to film the next scene in her TV show. Allie looked up at him with questioning eyes.  
“We can’t just stand around here moping all day. If we’re going to mope, let’s at least do it in the apartment where nobody will see us,” said Kendall. That speech surprised everybody listening; it wasn’t like Kendall to allow people to mope around. Logan sighed and began walking to the elevators, followed by Carlos, Kendall, and Allie. Allie went straight to her room and checked her phone on the off chance that James had texted her back; nope. No text. That didn’t exactly mean that he hadn’t seen her text, but...  
Aw, who was she kidding? She was worried to death. When she’d suggested making this movie to the record company, she’d had no idea that it would cause so much trouble. Allie buried her face in her hands.  
There was a knock at the door.  
“Come in.”  
The door opened to reveal Kendall, who seemed to have left his haze of joy.   
“You ok?” he asked.  
“Kendall, this is all my fault,” Allie began.  
“You’re fault? How is it you’re fault?” asked Kendall, surprised.  
Allie sighed, sure that she was about to be hated forever. “It was my idea to make the movie; I wrote a letter to the record company with the idea and Griffin liked it; that’s how I got the part. I just wanted to be able to hang out with you guys. It was just so weird in Minnesota without you, you know? I’m sort of used to seeing you guys at least every other week. But I’ve just caused pain. I made Camille break up with Logan, Jo break up with you, and James…”  
“I know, but it’s not your fault.”  
“Then whose fault is it?” Allie asked.  
“I-I don’t know. If you really want to blame it on someone, I guess you could blame Gustavo, but…”  
Suddenly Allie’s phone buzzed; she’d gotten a text. She pulled out her phone and saw that it was from James. She quickly opened the text. The color drained from her face.  
Too late  
“Allie? Allie? What’s wrong?” asked Kendall anxiously. Allie didn’t answer; instead she dialed James’ cell phone number, a number she knew by heart.  
“Hey, Allie…” said James sheepishly over the phone.  
“What did you do?” asked Allie, dead serious.  
“Yeah, about that…I sort of got hit by a car again…”  
“Where are you?” Allie’s serious tone was beginning to scare James and Kendall, who couldn’t help but hearing.  
“I’m at the corner of Palm Woods Boulevard and Main Street…but I’m fine. I really am. The car was hardly moving at all and—”  
By this time Allie was already on her way.  
“Allie! Where are you going?” asked Kendall, trying to keep up.  
“James, I’ll be right there. Don’t move a muscle.” Allie hung up the phone and remembered that Kendall was standing, er, running, next to her.  
“James got hit by a car. Again.”  
“What?”  
“Come on.”  
Allie led Kendall to the scene of the accident. To her surprise, James was standing up, an ambulance pulling away from the scene. Allie ran into James’ waiting arms.  
“You are such an idiot,” she mumbled into his shirt.  
“I told you, I’m fine. The car was about to park, anyway. The driver insisted on calling an ambulance and as you can see the paramedics gave me a clean bill of health.” Allie didn’t respond. “Allie?” James began to hear a muffled sound…sobbing? Was Allie…crying? “Allie?” James said gently, a panicked look on his face.  
Allie looked up. “I just can’t take it anymore,” she said through her tears, “First Jo breaking up with Kendall, then Camille breaking up with Logan, and then you…and it’s all my fault.”  
“What are you talking about? It’s not your fault.”  
Allie told him exactly what she’d told Kendall and then buried her face back into James’ shirt, letting the tears fall once again, ready for the hatred that would soon be directed towards her.  
James didn’t say anything for a minute, thinking about his cousin. She was easily overwhelmed, and as a result cried a lot, but could also be tough. James had seen her break down over lost hockey games yet stand up her neighborhood bully, all in the same day. But it still came as a shock to him when she started crying. He stroked the back of her head.  
“It’s ok. Everything will come out right in the end.” James used a phrase commonly said by his late uncle, Allie’s father, who had died in a car accident two years ago.  
Allie sniffled. “So-so you’re not mad at me?” she asked, looking up at him.  
“Of course not. Now let’s go back to the Palm Woods, ok?”  
James, Kendall, and Allie walked back to the hotel, Allie trying to hold back her tears. They went back to the boys’ apartment. Carlos looked up when they came in, and, seeing Allie’s tear stained face, walked over to them.  
“We need to have an emergency meeting,” announced Kendall, “Where’s Logan?”  
“His room,” said Carlos.   
James went over to the door to Logan’s room and knocked on it. “Logan?”  
“Leave me alone.”  
“No; we have to have an emergency meeting and you need to be here.”  
A few seconds later there was a click and Logan emerged from his room. There was no sign of him having been crying, but you could tell that he was upset. James brought him to the kitchen table, where everybody else was already sitting.  
Allie looked down at the table, sniffling every few seconds. Kendall sat at the head of the table looking very authoritative. Carlos just sat there, twiddling his thumbs. James winced a bit as he sat down; sure, the car hadn’t really run over him, but it had still hit him a little, like walking into a table. And so it left a bruise on his stomach, just like a table would (only if it had just been a table the bruise would have been much, much smaller). Logan plopped down into one of the remaining chairs dejectedly.   
“Ok,” began Kendall, “So a lot of stuff has been happening lately and I think that we need to talk about it, but first Allie has something to tell Carlos and Logan.”  
Allie drew a shaky breath and then started. “It was my idea to make the movie. I wrote a letter to the record company telling about the whole ‘what your lives could have been like’ idea and Griffin liked it; he was going to pay me for it but instead I just asked to play Kendall’s girlfriend.” The dam burst once again as Allie started to cry. “I just wanted to be able to hang out with you guys.”  
There was silence for a few moments. Carlos had no idea why this would make Allie cry. But Logan did.  
“So it’s your fault then,” he said, looking at her, “because of you…” Logan seemed to think things over in his head for a few seconds. He suddenly stood up and pointed an accusing finger at Allie. “You made Camille break up with me! You took the best thing in my life away from me!”  
“Logan…” Carlos put a hand on his shoulder, suddenly realizing why Allie was crying.  
“Calm down…” added Kendall.  
“No, I will NOT calm down! She…she ruined my life!”  
Allie had heard enough. She stood up and ran from the room, sobbing.   
The boys stood there in dead silence, James’ face growing red with anger.  
“What is wrong with you, Logan?” he asked angrily.  
Logan didn’t reply; instead he speed-walked out the door and went in the opposite direction that Allie had. He shoved his hands deep into his pockets and bent his head down; he didn’t want to have to talk to anybody. He walked quickly, not knowing where he was going.  
“Logan?”  
“Not now, Camille.” Logan kept on walking, and then stopped. Wait…Camille? He quickly ran back around the corner but Camille was gone.


	6. Chapter 6

Logan stood in the middle of the hallway, realizing what he’d just done. He felt like a complete idiot. First he had to lose it and yell at Allie for something that she clearly didn’t mean to do and then he had to go and ruin the perfect chance to get his life back together…  
Logan had leaned against the wall for support while thinking about this and now he slid down so he was sitting on the floor. He didn’t want to face the rest of Big Time Rush; no, he couldn’t. They would yell at him…not like he didn’t deserve it or anything, but Logan felt bad enough as it was. And James…Logan shuddered just thinking about what he’d do to him. Then he sighed; no, he knew what he had to do.  
Logan stood up and slowly retraced his steps, but instead of going into apartment 2J, he went to apartment 2K. He knocked on the door. There was no answer. Logan put his ear to the door and his heart felt like…well, he didn’t really know how to describe it. Lead, maybe? What he heard was crying. No, sobbing. How could he have done this? What had he become? Logan felt like crawling into a cave somewhere and never coming out; nobody wanted him anymore anyway. But instead he took a deep breath and knocked again.  
The door opened a crack, but as soon as the opener saw who it was, she slammed it in his face. Logan sighed and knocked again.  
Allie had indeed been crying (excuse me, sobbing). She had run to her room and then threw herself onto the couch, unable to control her tears. She hated Hollywood. She hated California. Why had she even come here? If she was back in Minnesota, well, she might not be seeing the boys every day but at least they would still like her. She had practically ruined their lives.  
Allie heard another knock on the door. Anger welled up in her chest; couldn’t he (she wasn’t even going to think his name) see that she didn’t want to talk to him? And why should she, anyway? Even if he did hate her, there was no reason for him to have yelled like that.  
Another knock. Allie ignored it and focused on quelling her tears. Within a few minutes she was able to stop sobbing; only a few tears fell from her face every few seconds.   
There was yet another knock. ‘Again? Seriously?’ she thought to herself.  
“Come on Allie, please, open up,” came a pleading voice. Allie was surprised. Logan had sounded close to…to tears. No. No, she’d probably just heard him wrong. Allie didn’t say anything, focusing on her breathing in a meditative way.  
“Please?”  
Allie sighed; she couldn’t stand it anymore. She could never stay mad at the boys for long. Well, mad enough to ignore them, anyway.  
Allie opened the door. Logan started; her face was streaked with tears, her hair was a mess…and all this in less than 10 minutes. At least Logan thought that it had been around 10 minutes…  
“What do you want?” asked Allie coldly.  
Logan ran his hand through his hair, unsure of where to start. He decided on the most direct route.  
“Look, I’m sorry. It’s just…Camille…she’s…she was everything to me. Or, almost everything. And now…” In spite of himself, Logan began to break down. He’d been careful not to actually cry in front of anybody; actually, he hadn’t cried for a few days now. But he just couldn’t help himself. Tears came to the eyes that Logan thought had no tears left in them. Logan turned away, but it was too late. Allie had seen them.  
Allie looked at him. “Then why did you yell at me?” she asked, a hurt, innocent expression on her face.  
Logan sighed. “I-I don’t know. I just…lost it, I guess. It’s just…I’ve been looking for someone to blame this on for days now and when I was finally given someone to blame…well, I made a bad choice. And now…”  
“And now what?” Allie asked.  
Logan sighed. “I passed Camille in the hallway and she actually said my name. I-I guess I just wasn’t thinking so I just brushed her off. When I realized what I’d done I went back but she was gone.”  
Allie gestured Logan inside and they sat on the couch. Allie thought for a few seconds before answering.  
“I think you can still get her back,” she began slowly, “We just have to do something really spectacular.” Allie took a pencil and notebook from the table and began scribbling down ideas. “Camille is very…theatrical. She’ll love it if you do something someone on a TV show would do, so…” Allie trailed off as she began to sketch something. Logan peered over her shoulder to see what it was. “There.”  
“What?” asked Logan.  
“It’s a really romantic candle-lit dinner. You could have it at the Palm Woods pool, Carlos could distract Bitters, I could help you cook something, James or Kendall could be a waiter…or you could just have all the food already out there…”  
“A candle-lit dinner? Are you serious?” said Logan, laughing.  
Allie looked up in surprise. “Yeah. If you don’t like it I could think of something else…”  
“No, just finish telling me about your idea.”  
“Ok…well, Camille would be so surprised and happy that somebody went to the trouble of making a whole romantic candle-lit dinner for her that she would be sorry and want you back, then you could take the whole time that you were eating to say sorry and catch up, since you guys haven’t been talking for at least a week. Or…” Allie flipped the page and began sketching again. “You could rent a limo…maybe get Gustavo to lend you his…”  
They talked about ideas for about an hour but settled on the first. Logan left Allie’s apartment very happy, having totally forgotten what had brought him there in the first place. He was reminded as soon as he entered apartment 2J.  
Logan was greeted by the angry glares of Carlos and Kendall, who had silently agreed to leave it to James to do the yelling, only stepping in if things got violent. Logan’s smile faded.  
“Right…guys, listen…” Logan didn’t know where to start. “Where’s James? I don’t want to say this more than once…” Logan finally settled on.  
“In his room,” said Kendall, nodding in that direction. Logan went and knocked on the door. James opened it, his face contorted in rage.   
When James saw Logan, rage rose up in his chest, as if it were a huge sea monster coming out of the water to strike some seaside village. The edges of his vision were tinged with red. His body took over; James hardly knew what he was doing. He pulled back his arm, hand clenched in a fist, and swung. Logan’s eyes grew wide as he easily ducked the punch.  
“James, listen, I—” He swung again. Logan again ducked. By this time, Carlos and Kendall had hurried over. Kendall held James’ arm and Carlos put a restraining hand on his shoulder.  
“James, stop! You don’t know what you’re doing!” said Kendall.  
James didn’t seem to hear him. “How could you! How could you say that to Allie?” he yelled.  
“James, calm down!” said Carlos, trying to push him towards the kitchen table.   
“No! I won’t calm down! Nobody acts that way and gets away with it!” yelled James.  
“James, you can beat him up later, after he tells us whatever it is he wants to tell us. And then only if he still deserves it,” said Kendall. This seemed to quiet James down enough to allow them to sit him at the table.  
Logan just stood there, shaking. James had just tried to…he just…Logan couldn’t believe it. He snapped out of his daze and went and sat at the table, as far away from James as possible.   
“Ok, Logan, we’re ready.”  
Realizing that everybody was staring at him, waiting for him to speak, Logan took a deep, shaky breath. Even his vocal chords seemed to be trembling. He began.  
“I just went and apologized to Allie. Well, I went, like, an hour ago. So, we’re cool now. I’ll tell you the same thing I told her: I just lost it back there. But she forgave me and even helped me think of ways to get Camille back…” Logan couldn’t help but think of his brief encounter with the girl of his dreams and tears came to his eyes. He quickly wiped them away.  
Everybody looked at James expectantly, wondering what he would do. Would he beat Logan up even though he’d apologized, or would he just let it be?


	7. Chapter 7

James just sat there, his eyes on the table. His face slowly returned to its normal color, having previously been red with anger. Logan began to shake again, getting ready to duck another punch.  
“I’ll be right back,” James finally said and left the apartment. He went straight next door to Allie’s apartment.  
“James!” Allie said in surprise when she opened the door. Then her face got a shade paler. “What happened? What did you do to Logan?”  
“Nothing…yet…but he says that you two made up…”  
“We did. I can imagine the pain Logan’s going through right now and…James, don’t be mad at him! I-I want you to be friends, I don’t…I don’t want to be responsible for…for the band,” Allie took a breath, “…breaking up.” These last words were said in a whisper. The girl’s lower lip trembled.  
“All right.” James began walking back to his apartment, but suddenly turned around. “But if anyone ever talks to you like that again…” James didn’t need to finish the sentence.

Logan looked up as James walked in.   
“Look, I’m sorry, man. It’s just…I’ve always protected Allie and she’s been upset enough these past few days as it is. She just doesn’t need the added stress, you know?”  
Relief flooded through Logan. He smiled. “Yeah…I’m sorry too. So we’re good?”  
“Yeah. We’re good.”  
So everybody went to sleep happy that night. Logan was happy because he’d apologized and had thought up some ideas for how to get Camille back. James was happy because Logan had apologized. Kendall was happy because he’d just gotten back together with Jo. And Carlos was happy because his friends were all happy. But little did they know that all of that was about to change.

That night, none of the boys slept well. They all had dreams.  
Logan went to bed happy, but his last thought before he dropped off was What if it doesn’t work? What if Camille doesn’t want me back?  
Logan dreamt that reaching out his hand, trying to grab Camille’s. He didn’t know why he needed to grab her hand, but knew that if he didn’t there would be dire consequences. Almost…almost…their fingers brushed against each other but suddenly Camille pulled away. Logan looked at her pleadingly. Come on! Grab my hand! But Camille just shook her head. Slowly her image faded away into nothingness. Noooooooooooooooooo…!  
Logan woke up with a start, wondering if he had said that “no” out loud. He looked over at Kendall, who was sleeping soundly. Good. Logan lay there the rest of the night, dozing occasionally, not being able to really fall back asleep.  
Meanwhile, Kendall was having a dream of his own. In his dream, well, Jo broke up with him. Again. It was the most painful thing Kendall had ever experienced. He woke up, and glanced at his clock—four in the morning. What Kendall really wanted to do was give Jo a call, just to hear her voice, be reassured that it was just a dream. But at four in the morning? Jo would not be at all happy with him if he called her at four in the morning…  
So Kendall decided to wait until seven. He knew that Jo got up every morning at six and by seven she was on her way to the studio to film her show. He would call her then.  
At the same time, in the next room, James, too, was having a dream.  
He was getting out of a limo and stepping onto a red carpet. He was surrounded by fans, some holding out notebooks and pens for autographs. Light from camera flashes blinked everywhere around him. He signed a few autographs, waved to the crowd, and then stepped up to the entrance of the theater.   
My Life  
James Diamond  
He stepped inside the theater and watched the film as it played. It was James’ life: how he got discovered by Gustavo, how he became a famous singer, how he became a famous actor…wait, James Diamond had never become a famous actor! Suddenly, the room around him began to crumble away. James ran outside. The people that had just been begging for his autograph now had torches and pitchforks. The red carpet he was standing on crumbled away. He started falling and landed in a huge bucket labeled “Nobodies.” James woke up in a cold sweat and lay shivering in his bed for the rest of the night.  
Over in the next bed, Carlos, too, was having a dream. He was surrounded by his friends getting hurt; Jo was breaking up with Kendall, Camille was breaking up with Logan, James was upset because the movie had been cancelled. Carlos had to help them. He tried to move towards Logan. He could hardly run—it was like he was trying to run in Jell-O or water or something…suddenly Kendall’s image faded away…and then Logan’s…and then James’. No! The floor that Carlos was standing on began to crumble and he was falling…  
Carlos woke up with a start, sure he was falling. Carlos gripped the bed tightly, and then realized that he wasn’t falling. But Carlos didn’t let go of the bed. Instead, he thought about the dream.   
Carlos hated it when his friends were upset about anything. Carlos was just a happy person by nature; he sometimes felt that his purpose in life was to make other people happy. And he was good at it, too. But then there came those times when he couldn’t help—when no matter what he did, his friends would still be sad. Like now—Logan was so upset he wasn’t even himself anymore. And James—James had been so upset today that he got himself hit by a car (thank G-d it wasn’t serious). And Carlos couldn’t do anything about it. He’d tried with James, but it wasn’t enough. And Logan…he couldn’t even try with Logan. What was he going to do, go up to Camille and demand that she make up with Logan? No, that would probably just make everything worse.  
Carlos sighed and put his hands behind his head, staring up at the ceiling.

Kendall looked at his watch again: 6:45. Just 15 more minutes until I can call her he thought to himself. Kendall picked up his phone and slid it open. He didn’t have any new texts; he wasn’t really expecting to, anyway. Kendall looked at his watch again. 6:46. Ok, this is ridiculous he thought to himself and quietly crept out of bed. He tiptoed towards the door and glanced at Logan. Whew, still asleep. He tiptoed out into the living room and checked his watch again. 6:48. Kendall, having nothing better to do, went to the kitchen and poured himself a glass of orange juice. He drank it slowly, resolving not to check his watch again until all the juice was gone. He took slow, small sips, trying to take as long as possible. And then he checked his watch again. 6:50. Kendall ran his hand through his hair, not knowing what to do.

Meanwhile, Logan woke up, having had dozed off, and glanced at the clock. 6:50. Well, it would be about 40 minutes until anybody else woke up. Logan thought about the fun times he’d had with Camille: going to the school dance together, making the music video for “The City is Ours.” A tear slid down his cheek. Those things would never be happening again. Logan flipped himself over and saw that Kendall wasn’t in his bed. He probably just went out to get a drink of water he told himself and tried to go back to sleep.   
James lay shivering under the covers, not from cold, but from fear. That was what was going to happen to him: he would make it big as a singer, nobody would want him as an actor, and he would be forgotten, just like all the nobodies.   
And that was NOT on the James Diamond Master Plan List of Things to Accomplish (not to be confused with the Things to Do Before I’m 20 list). James couldn’t believe that his friends would be so selfish that they would just quit the movie like that! Sure, sure, they said that they never expected Gustavo to just give up…but that’s what they said. James sighed, knowing that he was just kidding himself. He tried to think of happier things but just couldn’t. His mind kept coming back to the movie.  
Carlos had effectively gone back to sleep and was sleeping like a log. In fact, he had no idea that James had woken up in the bed next to him, which was strange because he wasn’t the heaviest sleeper in the world (unless he was crashing after having eaten a ton of sugar).

Kendall looked at his watch again. 7:00. Wait...7:00??? Kendall grabbed his phone and pressed the 6 key; his phone knew to dial Jo’s number.   
“Kendall?” Jo said, clearly surprised.  
“Hey,” said Kendall.  
“Why did you call me?” It was clearly an honest question.  
“It’s just…I had this dream and…it’s nothing. I just wanted to hear your voice.”  
Jo’s heart melted at his words, but she wanted more of the story. If they had been face to face, a simple look from Jo would have prompted Kendall to spill it all. But they weren’t.  
“What was the dream about?” asked Jo.  
“Well, just…you broke up with me again and…”  
“Don’t worry, Kendall. I’m not breaking up with you again anytime soon,” Jo said, thinking about how sweet her boyfriend was.  
Kendall smiled at her words. “I know. I just needed to hear you say it.”

Meanwhile, Logan decided that going back to sleep was not going to happen. He got up and went out into the living room. Kendall was there, talking on the phone. From what he was saying it was probably Jo. Seeing Logan, Kendall said good bye to Jo and hung up.  
“You didn’t have to cut your call short,” said Logan.  
“No, it’s ok, she had to go anyway. What are you doing up this early?” asked Kendall.  
“I couldn’t sleep. You?”  
“Same,” responded Logan, going over to the screen door that led out to the small balcony that overlooked the Palm Woods pool and looked out the window. Sure enough, there was Camille, practicing her lines for whatever her latest audition was. It hurt Logan that she didn’t seem upset at all.  
“Dude, you’ve got to stop staring at her all the time,” said Kendall, putting his hand on his shoulder. It was true; these days, the place where Logan was most likely to be was in that exact spot, staring at the girl he loved. Logan sighed.  
“I know. But what else am I going to do? I can’t focus on anything, I can’t even think about anything else…”   
Kendall hated to see one of his best friends this way. A perfect stranger could see that this was tearing Logan apart. Kendall sighed and looked at the clock. 7:30. Everybody should be getting up now.  
As if on cue, Carlos and James came out of their room, Carlos stretching lazily, James pushing past him to get to the bathroom to do his hair.   
“Hey guys. What’s for breakfast?” said Carlos. Then he realized that his friends weren’t zombified like they usually were every morning. “Did I miss something?” he asked.  
“Not really. Allie isn’t here yet so breakfast hasn’t been started.” Allie had dutifully been coming to the boys’ apartment every morning to help them make breakfast so that they didn’t burn down the Palm Woods.  
Logan looked morosely at the pool. Kendall gave an exasperated sigh.  
“I give up!” he said, going into the kitchen to see what they had that could become breakfast in a few minutes.  
There was a knock at the door. “That’s Allie,” said Carlos, running to open the door for her.  
“Hey guys.” Allie saw Logan at his usual spot by the window. She wanted to go over to him, make him get up and do something. He couldn’t waste his days just sitting there, imagining what his life would be like if they were together again…but Allie couldn’t. She just didn’t feel right doing something like that. So instead she went into the kitchen and took inventory of what was in the refrigerator. Eggs, milk, orange juice, jam and jelly. She moved on to the freezer. Toaster waffles. There was bread on the counter (but no toaster to toast it in) and cinnamon in a cabinet.   
“Does everybody like French toast?” she called out.   
A chorus of “yes’s” came and the menu was decided upon.  
Soon, breakfast was ready and the boys were called to the table. Logan slowly stood up and trudged to the table, as if he was walking through waist-deep snow. Breakfast was eaten, James and Logan hardly saying a word. But Carlos made up for it, telling stories and making everybody (everybody meaning Kendall and Allie) laugh. After breakfast Logan went to his usual spot by the screen door. James went over to the couch and turned on the television, aimlessly flipping through channels. This was too much. Allie first marched over to her cousin.  
“Is this what you’re going to be doing all day?” she accused.  
James slowly looked up. “Yes. Do you have a problem with that?”  
“Yes, in fact I do have a problem with it. You can’t just sit around all day, moping because you aren’t going to be in a stupid movie that wasn’t going to be any good anyway! At least go sit by the pool or take a walk around Palm Woods Park. Do something.”  
“What for?” asked James, trying to keep the astonished look from his face. Allie had never been so…stern with him before. He was expecting her to be upset, ready to get on her knees, begging Gustavo to do the movie.   
“So that I don’t have to look at you all day doing nothing. Now go.” And with that, Allie literally pushed her cousin out the door.  
Logan had been lethargically watching the whole scene in front of him.  
“And you,” began Allie in a tone that let Logan know that he was not to be spared, “all you do these days is watch Camille. Do you do anything to try to get her back? No. Do you do anything at all productive? No. You haven’t even touched a book in days. The Logan that I know would be devising some complicated scheme in order to get his girlfriend back.” Suddenly a faint smile played on her lips and Allie went to a closet that stored all sorts of odds and ends, including…  
“Scattergories?” asked Logan in disbelief.   
“Yeah. Remember how we used to play it every so often in elementary school?” Scattergories had been Logan’s favorite game. He had often made the other boys (and Allie whenever she happened to be there) play it, and usually won.   
“Yeah but that was ages ago,” said Logan, hardly paying any attention to the words he was saying, looking longingly at the familiar game. Allie, seeing this, began to set it up, and before he knew it, Logan was halfway through the game, laughing as if his life hadn’t just fallen apart less than two weeks ago.


	8. Chapter 8

Allie and Logan played Scattergories for a while. Carlos came in and joined them for a bit but soon became bored and went to sit by the pool. After a few rounds Allie decided to get to the root of the problem.  
“So have you thought any more about getting Camille back? The candle-lit dinner?” she asked carefully.  
Logan sighed. “I don’t know, Allie. Every time I think about it…I just have this feeling that it won’t work.”  
“Why?” asked Allie, surprised.  
“I don’t know…it’s just a feeling…”  
“Well, we won’t know if it’ll work until we try. But when should we do it? We could probably do it tonight,” Allie suggested.   
“I don’t know…”  
“Don’t you want Camille back?” Allie asked, suddenly accusing, taking on a new tactic, “Because I don’t think you really do.” Even Allie was surprised at herself for adding that last sentence.  
“Of course I do,” said Logan, surprised. He then got a determined look on his face. “We’ll do it tonight.”

Sadly, it didn’t happen ‘tonight.’ And it didn’t happen for a long time, for instead, somebody had decided to start a rumor about Allie and Logan, which, of course, Camille heard.  
Allie and Logan had finished one last round of Scattergories and then had planned. James could be the waiter, Kendall and Jo could get Camille to come to the pool, Carlos could distract Bitters (and Kendall could help/make sure that Carlos didn’t get into too much trouble) because nobody was allowed at Palm Woods pool after dark (and since Bitters had never had a girlfriend he wouldn’t be very sympathetic to their cause), and Allie could help make the food. And the best part was that since the tiny balcony of apartment 2J overlooked the pool, Allie would have a front row seat to watch everything happen (and of course she didn’t tell this to Logan). So everything was planned. Now they just had to convince everybody to help out…  
Allie decided to work on James first. She went to the pool, where you could almost always find James, tanning. But before she could reach James none other than Camille appeared in front of her.  
“How dare you?” she screamed, clearly serious and not acting, “How dare you talk romantic dinners with my boyfriend! How dare you spend the whole day with him playing Scattergories!”  
Allie looked at Camille for a split second, stunned. Camille was freaking out over Scattergories?   
“For your information, the romantic dinner we were talking about was for you. And I’ve been playing Scattergories with Logan ever since we were 5. I mean, seriously. It’s a board game. And to tell you the truth, I don’t think you deserve Logan,” Allie said in a burst of anger. Then she suddenly realized what she had said. She looked around.  
Everybody around the pool was looking at them. Logan was standing out on the little balcony, his hands gripping the railing as if for dear life, his knuckles white. His face had a surprised yet angry look on it, as if saying how could you? Nobody said anything.  
Allie suddenly ran inside, straight up to her room. How could she have done such a thing? Now Logan had no chance with Camille. She had ruined everything. If only she hadn’t come. If only…  
These thoughts flashed through Allie’s head as she hurriedly threw her clothing into her suitcase. She took her duffel bag and threw all of her painting materials into it, her vision blurred by tears. She had to leave. If she stayed here, all she would do was make it worse. And she wouldn’t be able to stand the boys being mad at her. She just had to get away.  
Allie looked at the clock. 6 o’clock pm. Perfect. This was when almost everybody ate dinner; the lobby would be nearly empty. Allie crept out of her room as quietly as possible. She taped a note to the door of her room, for the guys. She then went to the elevator, relieved to find that nobody was in it. Now if she could only get down to the lobby without anybody else getting on…perfect. Allie walked over to the counter and rung the bell. Bitters came out of the back with a plate of spaghetti.  
“What do you want?” he asked in an annoyed tone, for this girl had just interrupted his dinner.  
“I’m checking out,” she said.  
“Check out time is between 4 pm and 6 pm. It is currently,” Bitters consulted a clock, “6:15.”  
“But can you please make an exception?” Allie pleaded.  
“Oh all right,” said Bitters. The faster he got this over with the faster he could get to his pasta.  
It took about 7 minutes to check out and Allie was ready to go back to Minnesota. But first…

James had been stunned by what he’d seen. Allie almost never lost her temper, but when she did…  
James looked up at their balcony, noticing Logan for the first time. Aw, man… Logan had had to see all of that? The look on his face…he was shocked. James supposed that he needed to talk to his cousin, but that would have to wait. It was dinner time.  
James went into their apartment. Carlos and Kendall had either seen or heard about what had happened by the pool. They ate in a stunned silence.  
When they were finished, James said, “I guess I should go talk to her…”  
Kendall, Carlos, and Logan nodded.   
James was about to knock on the door to apartment 2K when he saw a piece of paper hanging there. He detached it from the door and read it. He felt the color drain from his face and ran back to his apartment.  
“Allie’s left!” he said, a bit panicked, bursting through the door to apartment 2J.  
“What?” said the rest of Big Time Rush simultaneously.   
“Look!” James showed them the note.

Dear Big Time Rush,  
I’ve decided to go back to Minnesota. I haven’t been doing anything good here, and I’ll just mess more things up. You’re probably glad I’m gone anyway. I just want to visit one last place, but after that you’ll never see or hear from me again. By this time tomorrow I will be back home where I belong.  
Allie

The boys read it. Then they read it again.   
“She…left?” asked Carlos.   
“But…we don’t think that…” said Kendall.  
Logan said nothing. In fact, he hadn’t said anything since…well, you know.  
“We have to find her,” said Carlos suddenly, grabbing his helmet.  
“I know where she went,” said James quietly.

Allie sat up high on the beach, looking at the final colors of the sunset as the sun disappeared over the horizon. She sighed. She had always wanted to come to Hollywood Beach, to paint the sunset. They said that the sunsets were unbelievable here. But Allie had gotten there just in time to see the very end of the sunset. Oh, well, she didn’t deserve to see sunsets anyway. Allie sighed again and looked down at the beach. From the top of it to about halfway down it was covered in rocks. Then there was the lifeguard’s chair, obscuring the view. And then sand, then water…Allie wished that she could have seen the beach in the day time.  
Allie began gathering her things. Suddenly, she heard her name.  
“Allie!”  
Her head whipped around. James? Kendall? Carlos? Logan? What were they doing here?  
“James? Guys, why are you here?”  
“Why are you here?” asked James.  
Allie sighed. “I’m sorry. I just had to come here. I just wanted to see it, to say that I’ve been here. But I was about to go anyway. You’ll never have to see me again and I’ll never be there to mess up your lives.” Tears filled her eyes.  
“Allie,” began James gently, “We don’t want you to leave. We-we love having you here. At least I do.” The rest of BTR nodded in agreement, even Logan.  
“Really?” asked Allie, hopefully.   
“Really. Now come on, let’s get back to the Palm Woods.”  
Allie suddenly looked down at her feet. “I can’t,” she said quietly.  
“Why not?” asked Kendall.  
“I’ve just been messing up your lives ever since I got here. It-it’s just better for all of you if I go back to Minnesota.” Allie bit her lip to keep from crying.  
“But Allie, we don’t care if you mess up our lives. We’re just glad you’re here and we want you to stay,” said Carlos.  
If they had been paying attention, they would have seen that dark clouds were gathering in the sky and the temperature had dropped. The wind was beginning to blow. A storm was coming.  
Allie opened her mouth to speak, but before any sound could come out, a huge gust of wind blew straight at her, and, her luggage acting like a sail or a parachute, she fell.   
Head over heels, heels over head…Allie didn’t know which way was up. A sharp pain in her arm…stupid rocks. Allie felt one last thing: an even sharper pain in her head. And then everything went black.  
The boys had just been watching all of this before their eyes, forgetting to move. But as soon as Allie hit her head on the lifeguard chair, the boys began to shout.   
“Allie!” yelled James. They all ran to her as fast as they could.   
Logan immediately went into doctor mode and motioned for the others to move back a few steps. He tried to wake her up.  
“Allie? Allie, can you hear me?” he said softly, shaking her a little. Nothing. There was a cut on her head. Logan became aware of a growing red spot on the left sleeve of her jean jacket. He gently pulled back the sleeve and felt a bit sick to his stomach. There was a huge gash on her forearm, about six inches long, and pretty deep. It was covered in sand and shells and seaweed…who knew what else. The gash was already beginning become a mottled mess of green, yellow, and red.   
“Kendall,” said Logan grimly, “Call an ambulance.”


	9. Chapter 9

James paced the waiting room, waiting for news about his cousin.   
“James, sit down,” said Kendall, “Walking back and forth isn’t going to make anything happen faster.” James glared at Kendall, but then he sighed and sat down. He replayed the events of the last hour or so in his mind.

Kendall had called 911, telling the operator that Allie had fallen and wouldn’t wake up and had a huge gash on her arm. They had sent an ambulance right away. James had been the only one allowed in the ambulance with her, so the rest of Big Time Rush had to go to the hospital by foot, which didn’t really matter because it wasn’t too far away.  
The paramedic had put a temporary bandage on her arm and made some notes on a piece of paper. James hadn’t wanted to bother him, so he didn’t ask any questions. As soon as they’d gotten to the hospital Allie was whisked away.   
“Wait! Where are you taking her?” James had called. One of the nurses came over to him.  
“Are you here for Alaura Diamond?” she’d asked.  
“Yeah, I’m her cousin. Where are they taking her? What’s happening?”  
The nurse looked at a piece of paper in her hand. “Oh dear,” she’d said. Not a good sign. “Your cousin is going into surgery. Her arm quickly became infected so the doctors have to cut away the infected flesh. And then she is going to have an MRI to see if she has a concussion…are you ok? Sir?” For James had suddenly gotten very pale.  
Allie…she hated needles. She couldn’t stand them. She practically passed out every time she had to get a shot. And surgery…Allie had always said she’d been afraid of that, too. And now…well, at least she wouldn’t know about it until after the fact…  
“James!” Kendall, Carlos, and Logan had come rushing over.  
“What’s happening? Where’s Allie?”  
“Allie’s in surgery,” James had stammered, and then explained everything. They led him to the waiting room. James couldn’t sit still. Within 5 minutes he was back to pacing the floor.  
The same nurse that had told him of Allie’s condition came into the waiting room and smiled when she found James.  
“You’re Alaura Diamond’s cousin, right?”  
“Yeah. Do you have any news about her?” asked James.  
“Yes…the surgery was a success and now she is getting an MRI…she still hasn’t woken up yet but that’s understandable because she’s under anesthesia. The MRI is almost finished and she will be taken to room 376 right after. We are getting the room ready right now.” The nurse was gone.  
So Big Time Rush waited. And waited. And waited. It was the longest ten minutes that they ever had to experience. And then the nurse came back to escort them to room 376.  
Allie was already there, her head and arm in bandages.   
“When’s she gonna wake up?” asked James, his voice hardly above a whisper.  
“She’s had a pretty bad concussion so it might take a few days. But sleep is probably the best thing for her right now; it will give her a chance to heal. I’ll be checking on her every so often and if anything happens just press this red button.” The nurse left.  
James hadn’t heard anything after ‘it might take a few days.’ Days? She might not wake up for a few days? James sat down in the chair closest to Allie, on her right. He immediately took her good hand in his, rubbing it gently.   
Presently, tears began welling up in James’ eyes, spilling out freely onto his face.  
Carlos couldn’t take this. He was a naturally happy person. No matter what was happening, he always found ways to be happy. Sadness and anger were usually foreign emotions to him. Carlos backed away from the scene in front of him, towards the door.  
“I’m going to go and see if anybody wants my autograph,” he said. Kendall and Logan knew that he was doing it to cheer people up; not because he had a big ego or anything. He was just trying to make people happy. And come on, if a member of one of the best boy bands in the country suddenly showed up in your hospital room offering autographs, anybody would be happy.  
James stared at him, disbelievingly. Allie could by dying, and all he could think about was autographs? “How can he think of autographs at a time like this?” he asked, angrily.   
Logan and Kendall had taken seats on the other side of the bed. Kendall now said, “James, that’s just his way to cope with all of this.”  
James knew that. He sighed and just stared at Allie, willing her to wake up. Soon he found himself whispering “It’s gonna be ok. It’s gonna be ok,” over and over again. 

Every day the boys went straight to the hospital. The routine was always the same: James would take the place closest to Allie and hold her hand. Logan would take the chair on the other side of her. Carlos would go out and sign autographs for patients. Kendall would either go with Carlos or sit on a chair he dragged in from outside of the room. And every day Allie would just lay there. Sometimes James claimed that she squeezed his hand. Sometimes her breathing would come out in sharp gasps. But there was no change in her condition.


	10. Chapter 10

Darkness.  
That was all she saw. A peaceful darkness. But then the darkness changed.  
Allie was suddenly transported back 10 years ago. She was 5. Her aunt (aka James’ mom) had come to visit and was talking with her mother. Allie stood in the hallway, listening to every word.  
“So remember how I told you the other day that my hair gel was missing?” asked James’ mom.  
“Oh, yeah. Did you ever find it?” replied Allie’s mom.  
“You’ll never believe where. I found James one morning in his bathroom using it! He had also taken some mousse and was making a perfect mess of his hair! But you know, when he was done it didn’t look half bad. I guess he inherited some of my talent.” James’ mom was a salon stylist.  
“Oh my goodness! What did you do?” asked Allie’s mom.   
“Well, I explained to him that those were girls’ hair care products, not boys’. Then I told him about how stealing is wrong and everything. And then I took him to the store and got him some boys’ hair care products.”  
Allie’s mother practically spit out her coffee. “You bought him hair care products? Claire, he’s only 6!”  
“I know, but if he wants to learn how to do his hair right he’s got to start early. Have you seen the way teenagers do their hair today? It’s horrible! They’re practically ruining it!”  
And darkness enveloped Allie again.

Suddenly it became light, as if somebody had turned on the light. James was there, bouncing on her bed.  
“Come on; wake up, sleepy head, today’s the big day!”   
Allie suddenly remembered what day it was: her birthday. Or, rather, her’s and Carlos’s birthdays. Yes; their birthday was on the same day. So they always did something special together, along with Kendall, James, and Logan, of course.   
For the entire month before their birthday, Allie and Carlos would plan out what they wanted to do. Usually that meant that they would spend half the day doing whatever Carlos chose and the other half of the day doing whatever Allie chose, but not this year. This year they were doing something special.  
Allie and Carlos had agreed not to tell anybody of their plan (except for their parents, of course). Allie could see that it had been so hard for Carlos to keep the secret, and was proud of him for not telling anyone.   
The boys, although they did not want to admit it, were eager to learn what the surprise would be. They were so excited that they could hardly keep still.  
Allie quickly got dressed and they all went to their meeting place: the park. The park was located in the town that the guys lived in, but it had always been their meeting place. All 5 of them remembered going there as little kids and playing on the playground, then riding their bikes around when they got a little older. The park held great memories for all of them.  
“Ok, I can’t take it anymore, what’s the surprise?” asked James when they got there.  
Carlos looked as if he were about to burst. Allie quickly stepped in.  
“You’ll see when we get there,” she said, “Come on!”  
The day before, Carlos and Allie had created a special route to take to the special surprise so that it would stay a surprise as long as possible. They led Kendall, James, and Logan through neighborhoods, nearly deserted roads; they even went in the opposite direction a couple of times. But finally they stopped in front of the amusement park.  
Kendall, James, Carlos, Logan, and Allie hardly ever got to go to the amusement park. It was a luxury; it was expensive. Their parents all decided that they didn’t want to spoil their children so as a result, they never got to go. Well, they did, but only on really special occasions. And apparently this was one of these occasions.  
Kendall, James, and even Logan just stared at the entrance for a few moments before giving a whoop and running in. They had the best time at the park, running around and going on just about every ride. But they all learned something new that day: Logan wasn’t cut out for roller coasters.  
After going on the first one, Logan had been so dizzy that he could hardly stand. He immediately ran to the nearest garbage and vomited, then sank down to the ground, leaning against the trash can. The rest of the group ran over to him.   
“Logan! Are you ok?” asked James, feeling terrible. It really had been him who had persuaded a reluctant Logan to get on the roller coaster.  
“I’ll-I’ll be fine in a few minutes,” Logan said.  
Carlos had a worried look on his face. He had spent all of last night creating an itinerary so that they would be able to go on the most rides, and this wasn’t part of the schedule. Allie immediately saw this and said,  
“Why don’t you 3 go on ahead? We’ll meet up with you.”  
“Are you sure?” asked Kendall.  
“Yeah, I’m sure.” The 3 guys left. Allie offered her hand to Logan and led him over to a bench.  
“Are you ok?” she asked as he leaned his head back.  
“I guess. I don’t see how anyone can have fun on those things.” Logan shuddered.  
“Roller coasters aren’t really my favorite thing, either. I’ve got the stomach for them but they’re just terrifying. I’m always afraid I’ll fall off or the car will derail.”  
“I feel so bad for the others. Me not wanting to go on roller coaster will ruin everything.” Their parents had all told them that they needed to stay together. “Now nobody will be able to go on any roller coasters because of me.”  
“I’ll stay with you. I don’t think our parents will mind if we just wait by the exits together.”  
Logan looked at her. “You-you’d do that?”  
“Sure. I only go on roller coasters ‘cause James likes ‘em.”  
A huge grin spread across Logan’s face.  
And darkness enveloped Allie once again.

The next time the darkness faded, Allie was at Carlos’s house. Allie had been going to Carlos’s, Logan’s and Kendall’s houses without James for a while now. It used to be that the boys just saw her whenever she was visiting James, but lately they’d been hanging out with her on their own.   
Carlos and Allie were playing Candyland. Yes, you read that right. Candyland. They were 12 years old and were playing Candyland.  
It had been Carlos’s idea. Actually, Carlos loved acting like a little kid. Most people passed it off as immaturity, but in reality Carlos was just a kid at heart. If he really wanted to, he could act like a 12 year old. But most of the time he didn’t really want to.  
Allie was also a kid at heart. The only difference was that Allie was more self-conscious than Carlos. On the outside, she was a mature, quiet pre-teen. But sometimes, when she was alone, she would watch Nick JR or pop in a Sesame Street or Little Bear movie. Or she would hunt up her old Blue’s Clues computer games and play them. So when Carlos suggested that they play Candyland, Allie didn’t object.  
“Ha! I get to go all the way to the Queen Frostine space!” Carlos shouted in glee.   
Allie frowned and drew another card. “Darn. Purple. 1 space.”  
Carlos drew a card and immediately began to pout. “Aw, come on, no fair! All the way back to the Mr. Mint space?!”  
Allie didn’t say anything; she only smiled and drew another card. “Nice! Another purple card! That takes me 6 spaces closer to King Kandy.”  
The two pre-teens kept playing until Allie finally made it to the final space.   
“Ha! I win!” she said happily.   
Carlos didn’t pout for long. It was almost impossible for him to not be happy for more than 5 minutes. He jumped up.  
“Hey! Let’s go bike-riding!”  
“Ok!” Allie agreed. Having had ridden her bike to Carlos’s house, her bike was already parked in his driveway.   
The two rode their bikes around town for a bit and then they noticed that they were in James’ neighborhood.  
“Hey, you wanna do something fun?” asked Carlos.  
“Depends,” said Allie, “What will we do?”  
“Let’s prank James,” said Carlos eagerly.  
“How?” asked Allie, suddenly interested.  
Carlos thought a moment. “Is James home?”  
“No, he went with his dad and brother to go fishing,” said Allie, making a face.  
“James is going fishing?” asked Carlos snickering.  
“Yeah his dad made him. Anyway, what’s your idea?”  
“We go into his house and replace his hair gel with glue!”  
Allie burst out laughing. “That is a great idea! But that’s sort of obvious, don’t you think? Hair gel doesn’t really look like glue.”  
Carlos thought again. “How about we replace his hairspray with spray glue!”  
“That would work! Come on, let’s go buy some!”  
The two biked to the nearest craft store and bought a can of spray glue. Then they went to the nearest pharmacy and bought a can of hairspray.  
“Good thing the brand James uses has a plastic label. Now all we have to do is peel it off the hairspray and stick it on the glue,” Allie remarked.  
“Yeah! Come on, let’s hurry!”  
They were able to peel the label off of the hairspray can without much trouble. Then they stuck it on the glue can.   
“Perfect,” said Allie, “And since I’m sleeping over at James’ house tonight I can video tape the whole thing tomorrow morning!”  
“Awesome!” said Carlos. They went to James’ house and made the switch with no problems at all. Just then, James, his brother, and his father came back from their fishing trip.  
“Hey guys,” said James.  
“Hey. I-I was just…leaving…I have to go,” stammered Carlos.  
“Right. It’s getting late. See you later, Carlos,” said Allie, trying to cover up his nervousness.  
“Bye.” Carlos left.   
“What’s he so nervous about?” asked James.  
“He was, uh, practicing…a speech that he has to give in English next week,” Allie said, making a mental note to tell Carlos about it later, “He didn’t want anybody to hear.”  
“Ok,” James said.   
“What do you kids want for dinner?” James’ dad asked, his voice fading away as darkness faded in and the image was gone.


	11. Chapter 11

James sat next to Allie, holding her hand, just like every day. He’d lost track of what day it was. His eyes were red and puffy and his face was stained with tears. His hair was limp and lacked its usually good looks. He had bags under his eyes.   
This was the sight that greeted Allie when she woke up.  
Allie opened her eyes, unsure of where she was or what was going on. James’ face was cast down, his eyes pointed toward the floor. Allie could see the puffiness around his eyes, the dried tears on his face. And she panicked.  
“James? What’s going on? Did someone get hurt? Or sick? Or die?” she asked, fear in her voice.   
James looked up sharply. The other 3 boys had done the same.  
“Oh, thank God. Thank God,” said James, tears threatening to spill over.  
“What’s happening? Where are we?” Allie asked, her fear growing stronger, “Did someone get hurt? Or die?”  
“You did!” said James.  
“I’m dead?” asked Allie, puzzled. She sat up.  
“No! Don’t you remember?” asked James.  
Allie thought a minute and then sank back into the pillows in defeat. “Thinking hurts too much,” she said, frustrated. And then she remembered…  
She remembered the movie, the break ups, the beach…oh no. She’d just ruined Logan’s chances to get Camille…  
Her hand flew to her mouth. “Oh my God. Logan.” She turned to him. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to yell at Camille—”  
“It’s ok,” he said from the other side of the bed.  
“No it’s not. I’ll-I’ll make it up to you. Somehow.”   
“Ok,” said Logan patronizingly.  
Allie heard the patronizing tone in his voice but chose to ignore it.  
“How do you feel?” asked Kendall.  
Allie noticed for the first time a dull throbbing in her head. “My arm feels weird and my head hurts,” she said.  
“Yeah. You had to get 30 stitches in your arm,” Carlos said.  
“Stitches?” asked Allie weakly, turning pale.  
“Yeah. And you had to have surgery because your arm got infected and they had to cut away the infected parts,” Carlos continued, not seeing the glares from Kendall, James, and Logan.  
“Surgery?” said Allie, even weaker. She felt her bandage-covered arm where the gash was. It felt like…she wasn’t sure what…but it did not feel right…  
“Yeah. Then you got an MRI and were out for like a week.”  
But before Carlos had finished the sentence Allie had fainted.  
“Allie? Allie!” said James a bit frantically, tapping his cousin on the cheek.   
“She’ll be fine,” said Logan, going to the side of the bed. But he did look a little worried.  
James turned and glared at Carlos.  
“What?” he asked.  
“You know she can’t stand needles and then you go and tell her all about what they had to do to her as soon as she wakes up!”  
“Sorry,” said Carlos sheepishly.  
Kendall went over to the bed and tapped her on the cheek again.  
“Well, she looks a bit better now,” he commented, noticing the return of color in her cheeks.  
“Oh, yeah, because it’s so much healthier to be unconscious,” James retorted sarcastically.  
Carlos went over to the bed. “Allie,” he called softly.  
Finally her eyelids fluttered open. Allie was greeted with the concerned faces of the 4 members of Big Time Rush. Her face turned beet red.  
“Can we pretend that that didn’t happen?” she asked, embarrassed.  
Relieved, the four members of Big Time Rush went back to their seats.  
“So,” began Allie, wanting to end the awkward silence that had settled on the group, “all of you look terrible.”  
“You don’t look like a beauty queen yourself,” retorted James, always self-conscious about his looks.  
“Yes, but I have an excuse. I’ve been in the hospital out cold for, what? A week?”  
“And we’ve been worrying about our friend who has been out cold for a week,” Kendall returned with a smug look on his face.  
“Well, if your friend was unconscious then she-or he-wasn’t going anywhere and you could have at least taken showers,” Allie said, holding her nose.  
“Yeah. But then we might have missed you-I mean our friend waking up,” said Carlos.  
“I love how we’re fighting about hygiene and how much we care about each other,” interrupted Logan, “How about we be nice to each other, at least until everything is back to normal?”  
“Ok,” Allie said, laughing.  
Suddenly the doctor came in.   
“Oh. You’re awake,” said the doctor with a surprised look on his face.  
“Sure looks that way,” said Allie.  
“I’ll have to examine you. Would you boys kindly step into the hall?”  
James looked like he really didn’t want to leave his cousin but Kendall pulled him out into the hall, where he looked wistfully at the door.  
“James, everything’s ok now. You don’t have to worry,” said Logan.  
“I know. But I just have this feeling that—”  
The doctor came out of the room. “Ok. You can go back in now.”  
The boys rushed back in.  
“You guys are acting like I only have a limited amount of time left,” Allie laughed. Then she turned serious. “I don’t, right?”  
“Of course not,” said Kendall, “We’re just excited that you’re awake.”  
Everyone nodded.  
Allie smiled, and then suddenly started.  
“Oh! My mom! Did you tell her about all of this?”  
“Yeah, we’ve been calling her just about every night since it happened. Why?”  
“She must be worried sick! I’ve gotta call her!”  
“Hold on, Allie! You’ll give her a heart attack! She still thinks you’re unconscious! I’ll call her,” said James.  
“Fine,” said Allie, knowing that what he said was true, “But can I talk to her?”  
“Sure,” said James, smiling, a burst of happiness reminding him that his cousin was awake.  
James took his phone out and found the correct number in his address book. He put the phone to his ear.  
“Hello? Aunt Rachel? It’s James…yeah, you could say that…she’s awake…yes...as of about a half an hour ago…do you want to talk to her? One second,” and James handed his cell phone to his cousin.  
“Hello? Mom? Yeah, I’m okay…well, my arm hurts a bit…no I’m fine…yeah I wish you could, too…don’t cry, it’s okay…I’m fine…hey Aunt Claire…yeah…ok, bye.” Allie hung up the phone and sat there for a moment looking troubled.  
“Everything ok?” Logan asked cautiously.  
“Yeah, I guess…but…she started to cry. She hasn’t cried since Dad died.” Allie shook her head slightly as if she were shaking the image of her mother in tears out of it.  
“So you guys have just been here this past week, watching me?” she asked.  
“Well, James and Logan were. Carlos pretty much went to the children’s ward every day to sign autographs and I went every so often, too,” said Kendall.  
Allie smiled. It was just like Carlos to go around signing autographs to make people happy.  
Logan glanced at the clock and his face suddenly fell. “Visiting hours are just about over,” he said glumly.  
“What?” said James, “Already?”  
Allie’s smile turned into a frown. “You guys have to go?” she asked.  
“We’ll be back tomorrow,” said Carlos.  
“What about Gustavo?” asked Allie, “Won’t he want you guys to record new songs or something?”  
“He’s in Fiji, remember?” said James, “Since he didn’t get to go for Christmas he decided to take some time off now. We’re ahead of schedule on our second CD and Gustavo wanted to take some time off before we go on tour.”  
“Oh yeah,” said Allie, wondering why she hadn’t remembered it at first. Oh, well.  
“See you tomorrow,” said Logan.  
“Bye, Allie,” said Carlos.  
“Bye,” said Kendall and James.  
“Bye guys. See you tomorrow.”


	12. Chapter 12

A week had passed since Allie had woken up and it was finally time to take her home from the hospital. The guys were all excited and got to the hospital as early as they could.  
As Mrs. Knight filled out the necessary paperwork Kendall, James, Carlos, and Logan, were all in Allie’s room talking to her.  
“…and then we’ll go swimming and then we’ll eat corndogs and then we’ll go down Swirly and then we’ll—”  
“Hold on, Carlos,” Logan cut in, “She can’t exactly go swimming with that bandage on her arm and it’s probably not the best idea for her to go down the swirly slide, either.”  
“But I can still eat corndogs,” said Allie, stifling her giggles.  
Carlos pouted for a few seconds. “Fine,” he said.  
Suddenly the doctor, Mrs. Knight, and Katie came in. “Everything’s set. You are officially checked out of the hospital,” said the doctor.  
A nurse then came in with a wheelchair. Allie made a face.  
“I don’t want to use a wheelchair!” she protested.  
“Are you sure?” asked Kendall.   
“Positive.” Allie swung her legs over the side of the bed and set them on the floor. She stood up and suddenly felt dizzy from standing up so quickly.  
All four boys immediately rushed to her aid.  
“Sorry,” Allie said apologetically, “I haven’t really used my legs for 2 weeks.”  
The guys let go of her and Allie took a few unsteady steps forward, knowing that they were all ready to catch her if she fell.  
The walk to the parking lot seemed a lot longer than it really was to Allie since she wasn’t entirely used to walking yet. When they got to Mrs. Knight’s minivan Mrs. Knight took the driver’s seat, Kendall took the passenger seat, Carlos, James, and Logan squeezed in the very back, and Katie took the bucket seat on the far side of the open door, leaving the seat that was closest to the door for Allie. Allie was grateful; she didn’t really feel like being squeezed between people or have to climb all over people.   
When they got to the Palm Woods Kendall immediately jumped out of the car and went over to Allie to help her out. Allie blushed as he took her hand and guided her out of the car, but then Allie remembered that she would have to walk through the crowded Palm Woods lobby with her arm in a cast with the sympathetic looks of everybody directed at her…something that she did not want to do.  
“Does, um, anybody know?” she asked a bit timidly.  
“Yeah, mostly everyone knows,” said James.  
‘Oh great,’ thought Allie. They left the parking lot and went to the lobby. Allie kept her head down, not wanting to have to meet the stares that were directed at her.  
“Hey, Allie.” Allie looked up.  
“Hey, Jo.”  
“How are you feeling?” asked Kendall’s girlfriend.  
“Pretty good considering…everything. How are you?”   
“I’m good. But listen. I want to talk to you later.”  
“Um…ok. Just stop by at my apartment later, I guess.”  
“Ok. See you then.” And Jo left (but not before giving Kendall a kiss on the cheek).  
“What was that all about?” asked Carlos.  
“I have no idea,” said Allie.  
The 5 teens looked at Kendall.  
“Hey, don’t look at me,” he said, his hands up as if to show that he wasn’t hiding anything.  
And they continued up to her room.   
When they got there James helped Allie onto the couch while Kendall, Logan, and Carlos ran around the apartment getting everything and anything that Allie might need.  
“If you need anything don’t hesitate to call us,” said James.  
“Yeah, and if you feel weird or if anything happens or anything just call me. Ok?” Logan added.  
Allie laughed. “I’m fine, guys. Stop worrying about me.”  
The guys all gave her Looks.  
“Ok, fine, I’ll call you if anything happens.”  
“Good. See you later, Allie,” said Logan.  
And the members of Big Time Rush left.   
Allie opened her sketch book and began to draw. She drew a picture of the photograph taken at the last Diamond Family Reunion, which had been about 4 years ago. They hadn’t had one since Allie’s dad died.  
It was a shame. Allie liked the family reunions.  
As Allie drew, she thought about what Logan had said to her. “Yeah, and if you feel weird or if anything happens or anything just call me.”  
And then Allie sneezed.  
It was just a normal, regular sneeze. Nothing special. She wasn’t sick or anything. She had just sneezed.   
But Logan did say that if anything happened she should call him.  
Allie could do that.  
Allie picked up her phone and dialed the familiar number. It rang a few times and then,  
“Hello?”  
“Hey Logan.”  
“Oh, hey Allie. Anything wrong?”  
“Not really. Just wanted to let you know that I sneezed.”  
There was a pause and then, “Ok…”  
“You said to tell you if anything happened and something did happen. I sneezed.”  
Logan sighed. “Allie, you know that’s not what I meant.”  
Allie giggled. “You said anything.”  
“I’m going to go now. Next time don’t call me unless something happens that’s worth worrying about.”  
Allie giggled again. “Ok. Bye.”  
“Bye.”  
Allie grabbed her sketch book and thought. It was nice to have such caring cousins.  
Because they were all her cousins. Not just James. The members of Big Time Rush were all brothers and you can’t be cousins with just one brother. You have to be cousins with all of them.  
Allie aimlessly began drawing in her sketch book, just letting her hand take over. She drew and drew and drew until it was done. It was a picture of the guys. Happy, carefree. Looking almost exactly the opposite of how they had been these past few weeks.   
Allie decided that she couldn’t wait for everything to get back to normal.

 

Author’s Note: First of all I want to apologize if the paragraph “Because they were all her cousins. Not just James. The members of Big Time Rush were all brothers and you can’t be cousins with just one brother. You have to be cousins with all of them” doesn’t make sense or sound good. I couldn’t think of any other way to word it.   
Anyways, here’s chapter 12. You can thank my snow day for this chapter.  
A week had passed since Allie had woken up and it was finally time to take her home from the hospital. The guys were all excited and got to the hospital as early as they could.  
As Mrs. Knight filled out the necessary paperwork Kendall, James, Carlos, and Logan, were all in Allie’s room talking to her.  
“…and then we’ll go swimming and then we’ll eat corndogs and then we’ll go down Swirly and then we’ll—”  
“Hold on, Carlos,” Logan cut in, “She can’t exactly go swimming with that bandage on her arm and it’s probably not the best idea for her to go down the swirly slide, either.”  
“But I can still eat corndogs,” said Allie, stifling her giggles.  
Carlos pouted for a few seconds. “Fine,” he said.  
Suddenly the doctor, Mrs. Knight, and Katie came in. “Everything’s set. You are officially checked out of the hospital,” said the doctor.  
A nurse then came in with a wheelchair. Allie made a face.  
“I don’t want to use a wheelchair!” she protested.  
“Are you sure?” asked Kendall.   
“Positive.” Allie swung her legs over the side of the bed and set them on the floor. She stood up and suddenly felt dizzy from standing up so quickly.  
All four boys immediately rushed to her aid.  
“Sorry,” Allie said apologetically, “I haven’t really used my legs for 2 weeks.”  
The guys let go of her and Allie took a few unsteady steps forward, knowing that they were all ready to catch her if she fell.  
The walk to the parking lot seemed a lot longer than it really was to Allie since she wasn’t entirely used to walking yet. When they got to Mrs. Knight’s minivan Mrs. Knight took the driver’s seat, Kendall took the passenger seat, Carlos, James, and Logan squeezed in the very back, and Katie took the bucket seat on the far side of the open door, leaving the seat that was closest to the door for Allie. Allie was grateful; she didn’t really feel like being squeezed between people or have to climb all over people.   
When they got to the Palm Woods Kendall immediately jumped out of the car and went over to Allie to help her out. Allie blushed as he took her hand and guided her out of the car, but then Allie remembered that she would have to walk through the crowded Palm Woods lobby with her arm in a cast with the sympathetic looks of everybody directed at her…something that she did not want to do.  
“Does, um, anybody know?” she asked a bit timidly.  
“Yeah, mostly everyone knows,” said James.  
‘Oh great,’ thought Allie. They left the parking lot and went to the lobby. Allie kept her head down, not wanting to have to meet the stares that were directed at her.  
“Hey, Allie.” Allie looked up.  
“Hey, Jo.”  
“How are you feeling?” asked Kendall’s girlfriend.  
“Pretty good considering…everything. How are you?”   
“I’m good. But listen. I want to talk to you later.”  
“Um…ok. Just stop by at my apartment later, I guess.”  
“Ok. See you then.” And Jo left (but not before giving Kendall a kiss on the cheek).  
“What was that all about?” asked Carlos.  
“I have no idea,” said Allie.  
The 5 teens looked at Kendall.  
“Hey, don’t look at me,” he said, his hands up as if to show that he wasn’t hiding anything.  
And they continued up to her room.   
When they got there James helped Allie onto the couch while Kendall, Logan, and Carlos ran around the apartment getting everything and anything that Allie might need.  
“If you need anything don’t hesitate to call us,” said James.  
“Yeah, and if you feel weird or if anything happens or anything just call me. Ok?” Logan added.  
Allie laughed. “I’m fine, guys. Stop worrying about me.”  
The guys all gave her Looks.  
“Ok, fine, I’ll call you if anything happens.”  
“Good. See you later, Allie,” said Logan.  
And the members of Big Time Rush left.   
Allie opened her sketch book and began to draw. She drew a picture of the photograph taken at the last Diamond Family Reunion, which had been about 4 years ago. They hadn’t had one since Allie’s dad died.  
It was a shame. Allie liked the family reunions.  
As Allie drew, she thought about what Logan had said to her. “Yeah, and if you feel weird or if anything happens or anything just call me.”  
And then Allie sneezed.  
It was just a normal, regular sneeze. Nothing special. She wasn’t sick or anything. She had just sneezed.   
But Logan did say that if anything happened she should call him.  
Allie could do that.  
Allie picked up her phone and dialed the familiar number. It rang a few times and then,  
“Hello?”  
“Hey Logan.”  
“Oh, hey Allie. Anything wrong?”  
“Not really. Just wanted to let you know that I sneezed.”  
There was a pause and then, “Ok…”  
“You said to tell you if anything happened and something did happen. I sneezed.”  
Logan sighed. “Allie, you know that’s not what I meant.”  
Allie giggled. “You said anything.”  
“I’m going to go now. Next time don’t call me unless something happens that’s worth worrying about.”  
Allie giggled again. “Ok. Bye.”  
“Bye.”  
Allie grabbed her sketch book and thought. It was nice to have such caring cousins.  
Because they were all her cousins. Not just James. The members of Big Time Rush were all brothers and you can’t be cousins with just one brother. You have to be cousins with all of them.  
Allie aimlessly began drawing in her sketch book, just letting her hand take over. She drew and drew and drew until it was done. It was a picture of the guys. Happy, carefree. Looking almost exactly the opposite of how they had been these past few weeks.   
Allie decided that she couldn’t wait for everything to get back to normal.


	13. Chapter 13

There was a knock on the door.  
“Come in,” said Allie, hardly looking up from her sketch pad.  
James came through the door. “Hey, Allie.” He seemed…sad.  
“Hey, James.” Allie looked up. “What’s wrong?”  
“Gustavo convinced Griffin not to do the movie anymore,” he said.   
“You’ll have plenty more acting opportunities,” said Allie, “You shouldn’t dwell on this.”  
“It’s not that...I’m over that. It’s just…the movie was the only thing keeping you here. Without it…you’ll have to go back to Minnesota,” said James sitting down on the couch next to Allie.  
Allie’s eyes filled with tears. The entire time that she had been in Los Angeles she had been afraid that the guys didn’t want her there. Add on all that she had done (mainly ruin everybody’s lives) and she was positive that they all hated her. And now James was upset because she had to go back to Minnesota.  
Allie brushed the tears away, hoping that James didn’t see them. “Well, I’ll still be able to call you guys, and text you, and Skype you, and email you. And you’ll come and visit, right?”  
“Yeah but it won’t be the same.”  
The two sat there in silence for a few minutes until James’ phone buzzed. He looked at it.  
“That’s Gustavo. He wants us at the studio to learn some new songs,” he said.  
“Ok. I’ll see you later.”  
“Bye.”  
And James left.  
Allie sat there thinking. James had seemed really upset, and Allie didn’t like it when her friends were upset.  
Soon there was another knock at the door.  
“Come in,” Allie called again.  
“Hey,” said Jo, coming into the room.  
Allie put her sketch pad down. “Hey, Jo, you said you wanted to talk to me?”  
“Yes.” Jo seemed very excited.  
“Ok, what about?”  
“Well, the director of New Town High announced that he needed an actress to play a recurring role as my character’s best friend, so I mentioned you and now the director wants you to audition!”  
Allie’s face lit up. “Really? That’s amazing!” But her face quickly fell. “But I can’t audition like this! I probably can’t audition for like a week or two at least!”  
“I know! Here’s the best part! We don’t need this character until next season so you have time to get better and all!”  
“That’s great!” said Allie with a huge smile on her face, “When do I have to audition by?”  
“Well, I told the director all about what happened and all and he said that he’d put off auditions for a week or two until you could audition,” Jo explained.  
“Really? That’s amazing! Tell him I say thank you!” said Allie.  
“Will do. Oh, and here’s the script that you’re going to have to read. I have to go. I have a date with Kendall.”  
“Have fun,” said Allie, paging through the script.  
“I will. Get well soon!” And Jo left.  
As Allie paged through the script, she thought. If she was able to get this role, she would be able to stay in LA! But she wouldn’t tell the guys…not yet. She didn’t want to get their hopes up in case she didn’t get the role. But she had to tell her mom…and Stacy…Allie picked her laptop off the floor (where Carlos had put it so that she would be able to get it easily) and she turned it on. Since she had it set so that AIM came up right away the program immediately popped up. Almost as soon as it did her best friend Stacy began chatting with her.  
Stacy: Hey!  
Allie: Hey!  
Stacy: How are u feeling?  
Allie: Fine…do you know what happened?  
Stacy: Yeah, your mom told me…I was worried sick!  
Allie: Awww…but I’m fine now. My arm just hurts a bit but otherwise I’m fine.  
Stacy: Good. now dont u ever do anything like that ever again!  
Allie: Lol I won’t  
Stacy: Good. So what else has been going on?  
Allie: Well, the movie is officially not happening. I don’t really mind, tho. It wasn’t a good movie anyway.  
Stacy: I dont believe that but whatever. so does that mean that ur coming back home?  
Allie: I’m not sure yet. Don’t tell the guys but I have an audition lined up.  
Stacy: Thats amazing! what movie is it 4?  
Allie: It’s not for a movie. It’s for a TV show.  
Stacy: Which show then?  
Allie: New Town High. If I get the part I’ll play the role of Rachel’s best friend. It’s a recurring role so that means that I won’t be working all the time and my schedule should be flexible.  
Stacy: Thats awesome!  
Allie: I know! The best part is that the director is going to hold off auditioning until I’m up for it.   
Stacy: Nice!  
Suddenly there was a knock on the door.  
Allie: I g2g. Someone just knocked on the door and it might be one of the guys.  
Stacy: Ok. Ttyl.  
Allie: Bye.  
Allie closed out of the program and closed her laptop. She then stood up and went to the door, using her good arm to open it. It was Kendall.  
“Hey, Allie,” he said, “My mom sent me over here to check on you and tell you that dinner’s going to be ready in 15 minutes.”  
Mrs. Knight and Katie had come back as soon as they could after hearing about Allie’s accident, but the soonest they could come had been 4 days ago.   
“Thanks.” In truth Allie hadn’t really thought about what she was going to do for dinner and was a bit touched that she was just expected to eat with the occupants of 2J.   
“Oh, and Allie?”  
“Yeah Kendall?”  
“Logan’s…Logan’s not been himself since we got here today. He saw Camille by the pool as we were coming in and…”  
“How bad is it?” Allie interrupted, suddenly concerned for her friend.  
“Pretty bad. He locked himself in our room and every so often you can hear him crying a little. We have to get him back with Camille before he makes himself sick or something.”  
“Yeah…well, we can think of a plan after dinner, I guess…”  
Kendall nodded. “Ok,” he said. Allie just hoped that they would be able to think of something good enough…and soon.


	14. Chapter 14

When Allie arrived in apartment 2J she saw exactly what Kendall meant. Carlos was at the door of Logan’s room, begging him to come out and be happy. Kendall and James flipped through the channels of the TV aimlessly. Even Katie was affected, as she was sitting at her laptop losing at online poker, a very rare occurrence. Allie sighed and went over to the couch where Kendall and James were and plopped down in between them.  
“Hey Allie,” said James lazily.  
“This is ridiculous,” Allie announced.  
“What, the fact that Logan is so upset about Camille?” asked Kendall, his eyes suddenly blazing, ready to defend his friend.  
“No, the fact that you’re not doing anything about it. I mean, Carlos is the only one trying to help but you two are just sitting here doing nothing.”  
“What is there to do?” asked James.  
“Well, you could at the very least be brainstorming ideas of how to get Camille back with Logan!”  
“Dinner’s ready!” Mrs. Knight called out.   
Carlos knocked on Logan’s door one last time. “Logan, did you hear that? Dinner’s ready!” A few seconds later Logan finally opened the door. He shuffled out of the room that he shared with Kendall and he sat down wordlessly at the kitchen table. Allie’s heart went out to him. He looked terrible. His face was streaked with tears. His eyes were red and puffy. His sleeves were wet, presumably from Logan having had wiped his tears on them.   
Logan needed Camille back. Fast.

After an almost silent dinner Allie, James, Kendall, and Carlos went and sat on the couch to discuss how to get Camille back while Logan retreated back into his room. Allie grabbed her sketch pad to write down any ideas that they came up with.  
“Any ideas?” asked Kendall.  
Silence.  
“Come on, guys, we have to think of something,” said James.  
“Well, YOU’RE the love doctor. Why aren’t you thinking of anything?” asked Carlos.  
“Because…because I haven’t thought of anything yet,” said James, unsure if his response made sense or not.  
“How about we go with my original plan?” Allie cut in.  
“What was that?” asked Kendall.  
“Well, I was planning on having Logan make Camille a real romantic dinner, but somehow she found out and got all jealous and angry and, well…you know what happened.”  
“That’s why she got angry?” asked Carlos.  
“Yep,” said Allie.  
“Well, Camille is the jealous type…” said Kendall.  
. “I’ve got it! We can send her on a trip to Disney Land!” said James, snapping his fingers.  
“Where are we going to get the money?” asked Kendall.  
“Oh.”  
“Hey, I know, let’s make her a giant corndog that says ‘Be My Valentine’ in mustard!” said Carlos with a look of absolute joy on his face.  
Kendall, James, and Allie looked at Carlos as if he had two heads.   
“Two problems with that. One, I don’t think that Camille would be too happy to get a giant corndog, and two, IT’S NOWHERE NEAR VALENTINE’S DAY!” said Kendall.  
“Well, I don’t see you coming up with any ideas,” Carlos shot back, his dreams of giant corndogs crushed.  
“It’s hard to think with you two coming up with stupid ideas!”  
“Guys! Quiet down! We’re not getting anywhere!” Allie cut in.  
There was more silence as everybody tried to think of ideas.  
“We could do the whole knight-in-shining-armor-on-a-horse thing again,” suggested James.  
“I don’t think that Camille wants the same thing twice,” said Kendall.  
“How about Logan takes her to LEGOLAND?” asked Carlos.  
“Sure, as soon as you figure out how to get the money,” said James sarcastically.   
“Does Camille like hockey?” asked Carlos.  
“I don’t think so,” said James.  
“We could send her a ticket to our next concert. It worked for me and Jo,” said Kendall.  
“The problem with that is our next concert is what, 3 months away? We can’t wait 3 months to get Logan and Camille back together,” said James.  
“Do you have a better idea?” Kendall shot back.  
“As a matter of fact, I do, you’re just jealous that they aren’t your ideas so you won’t use them.”  
“I’d use them if we had a couple hundred dollars laying around to pay for it.”  
All of this arguing was starting to make Allie’s already aching head hurt even more. She started writing down all the ideas that had been said so far.  
How to get Camille back:  
Have Logan make Camille a romantic dinner  
Send Logan and Camille to Disney Land  
Make Camille a giant corndog  
Knight in shining armor on a horse…again  
Logan takes Camille to LEGOLAND  
Give Camille a ticket to the next BTR concert (in 3 months)  
“Ok,” Allie broke in, interrupting the argument, “here’s what we’ve come up with so far. We can use my original plan, aka have Logan make Camille a romantic dinner. We could send Logan and Camille to Disney Land or we can send them to LEGOLAND, but you deemed them both too expensive. We could give Camille a ticket to your next concert but that’s 3 months away. We could make Camille a giant corndog with ‘Be My Valentine’ written on it in mustard but it’s nowhere near Valentine’s Day and Camille doesn’t like corndogs very much. Or we could dress two of you up like a horse and have Logan ride you up to Camille where he can ask her to be his girlfriend again but you’ve done that already. Seems to me like my idea is the only one that will work, unless one of you has a better idea.”  
“We could beg Camille to take Logan back,” Carlos suggested.  
“NO!” said James, “You NEVER EVER beg for a girl to take you back! NEVER!”  
“Ok! Ok!” said Carlos, a bit taken aback at James’ reaction.  
Suddenly there was a loud noise that almost sounded like something hitting a wall.  
“What was that?” asked Allie.  
“I think it came from Logan’s room,” said Carlos.  
“I’ll go check on him,” said Kendall, getting up.  
Kendall walked over to the door of the room that he shared with Logan and knocked.  
No answer.  
“Logan?” said Kendall, gently pushing open the door. He was immediately struck by the difference in the room from the last time he’d been there, not more than 8 hours before. His side of the room was perfectly intact but Logan’s was a wreck. There were books and papers everywhere. The sheets had been flung off the bed.   
“Logan?” Kendall repeated, not seeing him amidst the debris at first.  
“Over here.” Kendall looked in the direction the voice came from. It had been Logan’s voice but who he saw looked nothing like the Logan he knew. His face was slightly red and streaked with tears, his hair was a mess, and he was rubbing his fist gently, which was also red.  
“Dude, did you just punch the wall?” asked Kendall. Logan was the last person that he would expect to punch, well, anything.  
“Why, Kendall? Why did Camille break up with me? Why won’t she take me back?” he asked, tears threatening to spill over again.  
Kendall sighed. He hated to see his friend this way. “Because she’s a jerk,” he said bluntly, “But soon she’ll realize that and she’ll get back together with you. And you don’t know that she won’t take you back yet.”  
“Yes I do,” said Logan quietly, passing his phone over to Kendall. Kendall took the phone and looked at the message.  
I’m sorry, Logan, but I can’t. I need a guy who won’t be totally distracted by his career and will have time for me.  
Kendall then looked at the message that had received such an answer.  
Camille, the movie has been scrapped. I’m sorry I wasn’t able to tell you sooner but Allie had an accident and just got back from the hospital today. Will you get back together with me?  
Anger welled up inside of Kendall. He felt like…punching the wall. Instead he closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths.   
“Logan, we’ll get her back for you. I promise. In fact, we’re thinking of how to do that right now. Everything will work out in the end. I promise.”  
“Really?” asked Logan, a faint hopeful light in his eyes. Maybe he didn’t need to get new friends after all.  
“Really.”


	15. Chapter 15

“What’s taking so long?” complained James.  
“Yeah, Kendall’s been in there for forever!” added Carlos.  
Although she didn’t say it, Allie agreed. Why was this taking so long? Did something bad happen?   
“While we wait, do you want to come up with more ideas?” asked Allie.  
“I can’t think of anything else,” said Carlos.  
“Me neither,” said James.  
“Well the only thing that we have that is actually possible to do is the romantic dinner thing,” said Allie.  
“We could do that,” said James.  
“How?” asked Carlos.  
“Well, when I first told Logan the idea we decided that they could do it by the pool. I could help Logan cook whatever he decides to make, James could be a waiter, and Carlos and Kendall could distract Bitters since nobody’s allowed by the pool after dark.”  
James thought for a few moments. “That’s actually a pretty good idea. And I would make a hot waiter,” he said, pulling out one of his many headshots, this one a picture of him as a waiter.  
“What exactly do you mean by ‘distract Bitters?’” asked Carlos.  
“I don’t know, run around the lobby breaking things, tease him, make him mad, I guess. Just keep him away from the pool.”  
“Awesome!”  
Allie smiled.  
“Shhh!” said Kendall, finally coming out of the room he shared with Logan, “Logan’s asleep.”  
“What took you so long?” Carlos asked in a loud whisper.  
In response Kendall slid Logan’s phone out of his pocket and showed everybody both of the texts that he’d seen.   
“That noise we heard before? I think that Logan punched the wall. Because of this text. He’s angry and upset and, well, I just got him to go to sleep,” said Kendall.  
Allie was angry. She wanted to go and tell Camille off…but that didn’t really go too well last time. So instead she said, “I think we decided how to get Camille back for Logan.”  
“Great!” said Kendall. Allie told him all that they had just planned.  
“And you and me get to trash the lobby!” said Carlos excitedly.  
“I said ‘distract Bitters,’ not ‘trash the lobby,’ Carlos,” said Allie.  
“Either way it sounds like fun,” said Kendall with a mischievous smile.  
“Don’t you think I would make a hot waiter?” asked James suddenly, not even looking up from his mirror.  
Kendall gave his friend an odd look. “I’m not going to answer that question. So. When’s this gonna be?”  
“Don’t we have to ask Logan’s opinion?” asked Carlos.  
“Right. And we can’t really do that until Logan wakes up, which hopefully won’t be ‘til tomorrow,” said Allie.   
“Come on, Kendall, don’t you think that I would make a hot waiter?” James asked again, totally oblivious to the conversation going on around him.  
“Yes, James, you would make a smoking hot waiter. In fact you should quit the band and get a job at a restaurant,” said Allie before Kendall could say anything.  
James gave Allie a dirty look.  
“It’s getting late. I’m going to head back to my room,” said Allie, ignoring James.  
“See you tomorrow, Allie,” said Carlos.  
“Bye, Allie,” said Kendall.  
“Bye, guys,” said Allie and she left.

The next day Allie headed over to apartment 2J as soon as she was finished getting ready. Just like the previous day, Logan was nowhere in sight. Kendall and Carlos were playing Mario Kart Wii in the living room and Allie could hear the sound of hairspray being sprayed, letting her know that James was still doing his hair.   
“Hey, guys,” said Allie, “Did you talk to Logan yet?”  
“Nah, he’s still sleeping,” said Kendall, his eyes glued to the video game.   
Allie sat down on the couch and watched game. A few minutes later there was a knock on the door. Allie went and answered it.  
“Hey, Jo,” said Allie.  
“Hey, is Kendall here?” asked Jo.  
“Yeah, just a sec. Kendall! Jo’s here!” Allie called.  
Kendall paused the game and came to the door. “Hey, Jo,” he said, “What’s up?”  
Jo gave her boyfriend a smirk. “You forgot, didn’t you?” she said.  
Kendall stared at her blankly for a few seconds and then hit his forehead with his palm. “Just give me a few minutes, ok?”  
“Ok. I’ll meet you down in the lobby,” said Jo and left.  
Allie looked at Kendall. “You forgot a date with your girlfriend?”  
“Yes. I did. Me and Jo are supposed to spend the day together…” Kendall began running around the apartment grabbing his phone and his wallet and everything else that he needed.  
“Does this mean that our game is over?” asked Carlos.  
“Yeah. Sorry, buddy. We can play again later.”  
“YES!!! I win by forfeit!” Carlos said, doing his ‘victory dance.’  
“See you guys later,” said Kendall, leaving the apartment.  
“Bye, Kendall. Have fun,” said Allie. Carlos was too busy dancing to say anything.  
Allie went back to the couch and reset the game. “You wanna play?” she asked.  
“Sure,” said Carlos, immediately grabbing his controller.  
After about 20 minutes of some intense racing (Mario Kart Wii being one of the few video games that Allie was actually good at) James came into the room.   
“I’m heading out,” he announced.  
“Where are you going?” asked Carlos, his eyes never leaving the TV screen.  
“On a date with the new girl. She just called me.”  
“Hey! No fair!” said Carlos tackling James, the game forgotten.  
“Whoa. Wait a second. What happened to the ‘get Camille back with Logan’ plan? We still have to talk to Logan about it,” said Allie.   
“Can’t you two just do that?” asked James.  
“I guess, but…”  
“No. We need James,” Carlos said.  
“You’re just jealous because the new girl likes me and not you,” said James.  
“Am not!”  
“Are too!”  
“Am not!”  
“Guys! You’re acting like a couple of three-year-olds!” said Allie.  
“What’re you guys fighting over?” said Logan sleepily coming out of his room.  
“Carlos is jealous because the new girl likes me best!” said James pointing an accusing finger at the boy in question. Then he glanced at the clock. “Awww, you made me late for my date! I’m leaving,” he announced, grabbing his coat and then closing the door behind him with a bang.  
“But James—awww!” Carlos began but James was out the door before he could even get the words out.   
Allie laughed. “It’s ok, Carlos. There will be other girls.”  
“I’M NOT JEALOUS!!!” Carlos yelled, retreating into the swirly slide.  
Logan laughed and went into the kitchen to get some breakfast. A few minutes later he came out with a bowl of cereal and sat down at the table.   
“Carlos!” Allie whispered as loudly as she could without Logan hearing. Carlos stuck his head out of the top of the swirly slide and looked down at her. Allie motioned towards Logan with her head. A look of understanding crossed Carlos’ face and he went down the swirly slide.   
Allie went over to the table and sat down next to Logan.  
“So, Logan…” she began. It seemed like Logan was in a good mood right now; she didn’t want to ruin it by mentioning Camille. But she had too.  
“Yeah?” said Logan with a mouth full of cereal.  
“About Camille…” Logan stopped chewing for a moment and then swallowed.   
“Yeah?” he said, a bit more warily.  
“We talked a lot about it last night and we figured out how you’re going to get her back.”   
“That’s great!” said Logan, a large smile gracing his features for the first time in what seemed like forever,   
Allie told him the plan.  
“But…that’s the same plan you had before,” said Logan, a bit confused.  
“I know, but it should still work,” said Allie, “We just need to plan some of the details like when and what you’re going to make for her and stuff.”  
“But I can’t really cook…”  
“LOGAN! Do you want us to help you or not?” asked Carlos, a bit loudly, annoyed at all of the ‘buts.’ Allie elbowed him in the side.  
“I’ll help you cook,” Allie said to Logan, “And if you want this to happen we’ll have to think up a menu.”  
“What’ll I do?” Carlos whined.  
“You can go to the pool and find a girlfriend,” said Logan with a smirk.  
“Ok!” said Carlos, not realizing that it was meant to be an insult. He slapped his helmet onto his head and left the apartment while Allie and Logan planned out the menu and all the other details for what was hopefully going to put Logan’s life back together.


	16. Chapter 16

Logan was sure that he had never been so nervous before in his entire life. He was more nervous than he was when he’d auditioned for Gustavo. And that was saying a lot.  
“Don’t worry. You’ll do fine,” Allie whispered in his ear and then she was gone. Logan stood by the small table with a few flowers in his hand. He was dressed in a tuxedo; James had insisted on it, reasoning that “everyone looks good in a tux.” The food that he’d just finished preparing less than 20 minutes ago was on the table covered in fancy silver domes. The sound of the ocean came out of a hidden speaker underneath one of the chairs.  
‘Oh, where are they?’ he thought nervously.

At that very moment, Jo and Kendall were looking for Camille. They finally found her in an elevator on her way to her apartment.  
“Camille! Just the girl we were looking for,” said Kendall.  
“Oh, hey guys, what’s up?”   
“We wanted to show you something by the pool,” said Jo.  
“But…nobody’s allowed by the pool after dark,” said Camille, confused.  
“It’ll just take a minute,” said Kendall.  
“Well, ok, but I told my dad I was on my way up…”  
“Don’t worry about it,” said Jo. By this time the elevator had stopped at the lobby (having previously stopped at level 4 where no passenger changes were made) and the 3 teenagers got out.  
“What’s so important that it can’t wait until tomorrow?” asked Camille.  
“It won’t be there tomorrow,” said Kendall shortly.  
“Why not?” asked Camille.  
“You’ll see,” replied Kendall, a small smile playing on his lips.  
“Really, guys, I don’t see why…” Camille’s voice trailed off as Jo and Kendall opened the doors that lead to the pool. Camille looked at the setup in front of her in awe.  
Logan smiled. Camille walked to him, amazed.   
“You did this?” she whispered, “You did this all for me?”  
“Well, with some help,” replied Logan, pulling out the chair for her. She sat down and he pushed her in, then went around and sat himself down.   
“For you,” he said, holding out the flowers. Camille took them, not noticing that Logan kept one.  
“Camille, I was wondering…” Logan then began nervously, “Would you…could you…please…” Logan searched for the right words.

At this very same moment, Carlos was on a mission: keep Bitters away from the pool. Should be easy enough. Well, it would have been easier if he was allowed to break some stuff. But he wasn’t. Stupid Logan. Always thinking about the ‘consequences.’  
Hmmm…where should he start…ah, perfect! Carlos pressed the elevator button and in a few seconds the elevator doors opened. He pressed the “L” button (‘L’ meaning ‘Lobby,’ although why they couldn’t just put the word ‘Lobby’ there Carlos could never figure out) and then pressed a button on the big boom box he was carrying. “Big Night” began blasting through the speakers. This should be enough to create some disturbance.   
The elevator arrived at the lobby and Carlos walked out. And there was Bitters. He looked up from his pasta, anger in his eyes.  
“No…music…in…my…LOBBY!” he said, getting louder with each word.  
Carlos made a taunting face at him and then went back into the elevator, waving at Bitters as the doors closed. Carlos hit a random button and laughed to himself. He could keep this up all night.

“The bird is in the nest. Repeat: the bird is in the nest,” Kendall said into his walkie-talkie.   
“Do you really have to use those things?” asked Jo. There were some things about her boyfriend that she would never understand.  
“Uh, yeah,” Kendall said, looking at his girlfriend as if she were crazy. 

“The bird is in the nest. Repeat, the bird is in the nest,” Allie and James heard over their walkie-talkie.  
“Do you think Carlos might need any help?” asked James, clearly bored.  
Allie looked at her cousin. “Carlos need help keeping Bitters away from the pool? No. But I don’t think that he would mind the help…”  
And James and Allie were out the door.

After wandering the 4th floor for a bit playing his boom box, Carlos decided to go back to the elevator. Bitters should have gotten enough noise complaints by now to be able to find him.  
As Carlos rode the elevator heading to a different floor, Carlos thought that he heard something. He turned the volume of his boom box down for the first time since he’d turned it on. Was that…City is Ours? Who else could be playing…aw, it had to be James! Carlos grinned wickedly. With the two of them running around the Palm Woods Bitters would have one very busy night!


	17. Chapter 17

“Camille, I was wondering…” Logan then began nervously, “Would you…could you…please…” Logan began, not knowing how to word his request.  
Camille smiled and brought her face closer to Logan’s, their lips meeting in a sweet, beautiful kiss. Logan knew that this was Camille’s way of saying yes.

Meanwhile, Carlos, James, Allie, and now Kendall were all running around the Palm Woods blasting various Big Time Rush songs on their boom boxes as they went. Carlos was still playing Big Night, James and Allie were still playing City is Ours, and Kendall was playing Oh Yeah.   
Bitters had to switch between chasing each source of music, a frustrating task. As soon as he was just about to grab one of the teens they slipped into an elevator. ‘When I get my hands on them…’ he thought to himself.

Logan and Camille finally ended the kiss. Logan smiled softly but on the inside he was ecstatic. He took the single rose that he had retained from the bouquet and put it in his girlfriend’s hair. She looked gorgeous. 

“Aha!” yelled Bitters, gripping Carlos by the arm. “Got’cha!”  
Carlos squirmed a bit, trying to get free of the manager’s grasp.   
“Oh, no you don’t!” said Bitters, dragging him to the elevator, “You’re coming with me.”

“Carlitos! Come in, Carlitos!” James and Allie heard on their walkie talkie. Allie turned the music down.  
“Is it just me or is that thing echoing?” asked Allie.  
“No, I hear it, too…” said James, puzzled. They walked a few steps.  
“It’s getting louder…” said Allie.  
“What’s that?” asked James, spotting something on the floor.  
The two teenagers ran to pick it up. It was the third walkie talkie.  
“Carlos, what’s going on?” Kendall was now saying.  
“Kendall!” James yelled into the device. Kendall stopped talking so he could hear.  
“Carlos is MIA! We just found his walkie talkie on the floor!” said Allie.  
“This is bad…ok, hold on a sec…” While Kendall thought up a plan, Allie looked out the window. Logan and Camille were standing up. They walked hand-in-hand towards the lobby.  
“Looks like mission complete,” she said, prompting James to rush over to the window.  
“Hey, you’re right…Kendall!” said James, pushing the button on his walkie talkie.  
“What?”  
“Mission complete. Looks like Logan and Camille are back together. We don’t need to distract Bitters anymore.”  
There was a pause; Kendall must be looking out a window. “I see…” he said, “Well, we should go put the table and chairs away before Bitters sees them…then we’ll bail Carlos out.”  
“Ok. We’ll meet you there,” said James into the walkie talkie. To Allie he said, “Let’s go.”

Bitters dragged Carlos into his office and sat him down in a chair.  
“What-what are you going to do to me?” asked Carlos, happy that he was wearing his helmet. At least it gave him some comfort.  
“You’ll see,” said Bitters, leaving the room.  
Carlos immediately got up and ran to the door. Locked. Ok, time for plan B. Carlos searched frantically for his walkie talkie. No! It wasn’t there! He must have dropped it! Before Carlos could think of a plan C Bitters had reentered the room carrying a boom box of his own.  
Carlos hardly had any time to be question anything because Bitters instantly pressed the play button. Out came the one sound that no teenager can stand: opera music.  
“Nooooooooooo!” Carlos yelled in agony while Bitters laughed evilly.

After Kendall and James had put the folding table and chairs away they stopped in the lobby with Allie to a) figure out where Carlos was and b) figure out how to get him out of there.   
The first one was easy. As soon as they set foot into the lobby they could hear “No! Make it stop! Make it stop!” coming from Bitters’ office. The three teenagers froze, fearing the worse, but when they heard the opera music underneath Carlos’ agonized cries they knew he was ok.  
But getting him out of there was another story.  
“We could lure Bitters out with food,” suggested James.  
“James, this isn’t Zoey 101 and Bitters isn’t the girls’ dorm advisor,” said Allie.  
“I got it!” said Kendall, snapping his fingers, “Allie, go grab a boom box. James, go find a baseball bat.”  
The two cousins went and did as they were instructed.   
“Now, Allie, start blasting the boom box. James, start breaking stuff,” said Kendall, “That should get Bitters to leave the office so I can go get him out.”  
“But you told Carlos that we can’t break anything,” said James doubtfully.  
“That was before he let Bitters get him! Now go!”  
Allie turned on the boom box and City is Ours started blasting through the speakers. James took the baseball bat and began to smash things around the lobby.  
“Allie! Turn it down a little so Bitters can hear James smashing things!” Kendall yelled over the music. Allie nodded and turned it down.  
“WHAT’S GOING ON OUT HERE?!?!?” Bitters screamed, bursting into the lobby. His face was bright red and you could practically see smoke coming out of his ears.   
“YOU!” he continued, pointing to James, “STOP BREAKING…” Bitters stopped as he realized that the music was still on. “TURN OFF THAT MUSIC!!!”  
Allie did as she was told.  
“NOW YOU,” Bitters continued, turning back to James. A confused look passed over his face as he realized that he wasn’t there. He looked back to the girl.   
She was gone, too.  
And that other kid…gone. Bitters looked towards his office. Just as he’d suspected. Helmet boy was gone, too.  
Ah, well. He could get them some other time.


	18. Chapter 18

As soon as the four teenagers got back to apartment 2J they burst out laughing.  
“That was the best thing that we have done in LA so far!” Carlos said, “Well, except for the opera part.”  
“Dude, we could hear you screaming from the pool!” James said panting.  
Carlos blushed.  
“Hey, you’d be screaming too if you were forced to listen to opera,” said Kendall.  
“True,” James admitted.  
Just then Logan walked through the door. It looked like he was on cloud nine.  
“Hey, Logan,” said Carlos, “How’d it go?”  
“Amazing,” said Logan dreamily.   
“You’re back with Camille?” asked Kendall.  
“Yes,” said Logan, a silly grin appearing on his face, “Camille is my girlfriend again.”  
“Oh, I’m so happy for you!” Allie squealed, throwing her arms around him.  
“Yeah, man,” said James, “We all are.”  
Carlos and Kendall nodded in agreement.  
“Thanks, guys,” said Logan, “Without you, well, I never would have gotten Camille back. You guys are the best.”  
“Without us you never would have lost Camille in the first place,” Carlos pointed out.  
“Without us he wouldn’t be in Hollywood in the first place,” Kendall retorted.  
Carlos thought that over. “True, but—”  
“Let’s not ruin the moment by arguing, ok?” Allie interrupted.  
“Fine,” said Kendall, rolling his eyes jokingly.  
“I guess this means that you don’t ‘gotta get new friends?’” James asked jokingly. Like all of them, James had realized that Logan didn’t use that catchphrase much anymore.  
“Get new friends? Are you kidding?” asked Logan incredulously, “Without you—”  
“AHHHH!!! I CAN’T GET THAT STUPID SONG OUT OF MY HEAD!!!!” Carlos suddenly yelled, hitting his ear as if trying to get water out of it.  
“The opera?” asked James, “Just try singing a better song like Party in the USA.”  
“No!” Kendall said, “That’s even worse!”  
“Is not!” shouted James.  
“Is too!” Kendall shot back.  
“What opera?” asked Logan, confused.  
“While we were distracting Bitters, he caught Carlos and forced him to listen to opera music,” Allie explained, stifling giggles.  
“That explains the screams we heard,” said Logan as if something that had been bothering him for a while suddenly made perfect sense.  
“Because the night is young, the line is out the door, today was crazy but tonight the city's ours…” Carlos began singing to himself quietly, his hands covering his ears.  
Allie shook her head. These guys were just crazy. “It’s late. I’m going to go to bed. Good night.”

Kendall and James stopped fighting long enough to say, “Good night, Allie” “See you tomorrow.”  
Logan came into the hall with Allie.   
“I just wanted to thank you again,” he said, “Without you…I never would have gotten Camille back.”  
Allie smiled. “I couldn’t just let you live the rest of your life out like that, could I?” she said.  
“But seriously. Thank you.”

The next few days were fairly normal: the guys recorded news songs (by this point Gustavo had come back from Fiji) while Allie secretly practiced the script for Jo’s TV show, New Town High. Then they would all hang out together, either by the pool or in apartment 2J.  
And then it was finally the big day. Allie had her audition for New Town High.  
This was the audition that would either allow her to stay in LA or force her to go home.   
“You ready?” asked Jo.   
“I think so,” asked Allie, “Do I look ok?”  
Jo looked at Allie with a critical eye. She straightened out her clothes and hair and then said, “Perfect. Break a leg.”  
“Thanks,” said Allie, and she disappeared into the room where auditions were being held.

About fifteen minutes later, Allie came out of the room.  
“How’d it go?” asked Jo.  
“I think it went pretty well,” said Allie, “They said that they would call me tomorrow at three to tell me whether I got the part or not.”  
“I really hope that you get it,” said Jo, “It would be so much fun to work with you!” By this time Jo and Allie had become great friends.  
“Thanks,” said Allie. By this time they were back at the Palm Woods.  
“Well, I’ll see you later, Allie.”  
“By, Jo. Oh, and remember, if anyone asks, we were shopping.”  
Jo laughed. “Got it.”  
Allie went to the pool; as she’d expected, Kendall, James, and Carlos were there.  
“Hey, guys,” she said, sitting down with them.  
“Hey, Allie!” said Carlos, “Watch this!” Carlos ran to the pool and jumped in.  
“You belly flopped,” Allie said when Carlos got out of the water.  
“It was supposed to be a dive,” he replied, embarrassed.  
“So where were you?” asked Kendall.  
“Shopping with Jo,” Allie replied.  
“Did you find anything good?” asked James.  
“Not really,” said Allie, “Where’s Logan?”  
“I’ll give you three guesses,” said Kendall with a smirk.  
“Camille?”  
“Yep,” said James.  
“They’ve been glued to each other all day. It’s so annoying!” said Carlos.  
“Hey, that’s better than Logan holing himself up in his room again,” said James.  
“True,” said Carlos.  
“So how was rehearsal?” asked Allie.  
The three boys in front of her groaned.  
“Terrible,” James said.  
“Logan wasn’t paying attention at ALL so Gustavo made us do harmonies for an hour,” Carlos said with a shudder.  
“Then Logan wasn’t paying attention to that so Gustavo made us do even more harmonies,” said Kendall.  
“Logan won’t be like this forever,” Allie said with a laugh, “Besides, think about all the harmonies Gustavo would make you do if Logan was still on the verge of tears all the time.”  
“Are you guys talking about me again?” asked Logan, walking up to the table.  
“Yes, we are. We were just saying that you’re a terrible singer and you should stop using so much hair gel,” said Kendall.  
“Ha ha, very funny,” said Logan, sitting down.  
Suddenly it began to rain.  
“Aww, come on!” said Carlos.  
“Well, we don’t actually have to go inside unless—”  
BOOM! A crash of thunder interrupted James.  
“I think we should go inside,” said Kendall.  
“That might be a good idea,” said Logan as all five teenagers ran into the lobby.  
“So where’s Camille?” asked Allie.  
“She had to go to an audition,” Logan explained.  
“That explains why you’re actually hanging out with us,” said James playfully.  
“Wait, where did Carlos go?” asked Kendall, having noticed that, indeed, Carlos was nowhere in sight.  
“WOOOOO!!!!!” they heard, and, as if on cue, Carlos came rushing by on a shopping cart slingshot and crashed into the wall. Almost immediately he popped up, unharmed.  
“STOP BREAKING MY LOBBY!” Bitters shouted.   
“Maybe we should leave,” suggested Logan.  
“Good plan,” said James and they left.

The next day Allie spent the morning painting in order to take her mind off of the impending phone call from the producers of New Town High. Then, after Gustavo let the guys leave for the day, she went to the pool with them.  
“Carlos, it’s not nice to try to make people have lemonade come out of their noses!” Kendall said sternly while everyone around him laughed at Carlos’ antics.  
“Yes it is,” Carlos said.  
Suddenly Allie’s phone rang. She stopped laughing and looked at the screen.  
“I’ll be right back,” she said, walking away to answer the phone.  
“Hello?”  
“Hi, I’m a representative of New Town High. Is this Alaura Diamond?”  
“Yes.”  
“Congratulations! You got the part!”  
“Really?”  
“Yes. You are to report to sound stage 5 tomorrow morning at eight.”  
“Ok. I’ll be there.”  
“Good bye.”  
“Bye.”  
Allie could hardly contain her excitement as she walked back to the table that her cousins and best friends were sitting at.  
“Looks like somebody just got some good news,” James remarked, “Come on. Share.”  
Allie sat down. “I am officially going to play new girl and Rachel’s future best friend Rebecca on New Town High,” she announced.  
“What?” all the boys said at once.  
“You mean you’re in a TV show now?” asked Carlos.  
“Well, I won’t be until the next season.”  
“Wait, does this mean that you’re going to stay in LA?” Logan asked.  
“Yes. I get to stay here.”


	19. Epilogue

Allie was at the Palm Woods pool, sketching in her sketch book. She smiled a bit as she drew the last details on a picture. Perfect, she thought to herself and signed it. Then she looked up.  
There was Kendall, talking with Jo while they drank his-and-hers smoothies (Kendall drinking the pink one, Jo drinking the blue one). There was Logan, talking with Camille. There was Carlos, cannon balling into the pool. And there was James, flirting with a girl.  
Everything was back to normal.  
Allie gently ran her fingers over the scar that had formed on the inside of her forearm; she’d gotten the bandage off a few days ago and the doctors said that the thin white line would stay there for the rest of her life.   
Allie didn’t mind. The scar was a memory; a memory of a very interesting period in her life. But that chapter was over now; a new one was beginning. A much happier one.  
“Hey, Allie.”  
Allie turned around. “Hey, James.”  
“Whatcha doing?”  
“Thinking.”  
“That’s cool.” James sounded a bit…sullen.  
Allie looked at her cousin. “That girl rejected you, didn’t she?”  
James sighed. “Yeah.”  
Allie laughed a little to herself.  
“Hey! It’s not funny!” said James, “Girls around here don’t like me like they do in Minnesota!”  
“Then go back home. I’m sure there are plenty of girls willing to date you there,” Allie replied.  
James made a face. “Go back home and be a nobody? Never.”  
“Hey, James,” said Kendall, coming up to them, smirking, “Any luck with the ladies lately?”  
“Shut up, Kendall,” James grumbled.  
“Hey,” said Logan, joining them.  
“Hey, Logan,” said Allie.  
Logan looked at James. “He got rejected by a girl?” he asked.  
“Yep,” Allie replied.   
Logan chuckled. “She probably wasn’t worth it, anyway,” he said.  
“True. Besides, there’s always next time,” said James, brightening a little.  
“Right,” said Logan.  
“Hey, guys,” said Carlos, coming over.  
“Carlos! You’re getting me all wet!” James shouted.  
“Sorry. Hey, Allie, you wanna go swimming?  
“Sure,” said Allie, “I just have to get my bathing suit on first.”  
“Ok,” said Carlos.  
Allie went up to her apartment. Yep. This was definitely going to be a happier chapter in her life.  
Or was it?


End file.
